Things between Francis Ngannou and the UFC are going to keep getting ugly as the two sides look to renegotiate and settle on a new contract. The UFC even managed to fire some shots at Francis Ngannou before his fight with Ciryl Gane.

The UFC heavyweight champion revealed that his manager, Marquel Martin, received an email from a lawyer representing the company. He talked about it on the latest episode of The MMA Hour.

“I know most of this stuff was all about strategy to distract me,” Ngannou said during an appearance on The MMA Hour. “They’re no fool. They know that if Francis is good in his mind, he’s a potential danger for everybody out there.”

“They want to take your mind out of it, out of the most important stuff, and like distract you with all these things. I’m like, you’re not getting into me with this.”

The UFC lawyer actually threatened to sue Marquel Martin for talking to a promoter while still under contract. They received the email right before the fight with Ciryl Gane.

“They told me they just received an email from the UFC saying they’re going to sue him (Martin) for talking with this guy, Nakisa,” Ngannou said.

“I don’t know him (Bidarian). I couldn’t recognize him if you put him in front to me. And secondly, he’s not the promoter,” Ngannou said. It’s not like I can’t have a dialogue with people about boxing. I talk about boxing all the time.”

MMA fans will be hoping to see Francis Ngannou stay with the UFC. Only time will tell if the two sides can reach an agreement.