Francis Ngannou is preparing for UFC 270 against Ciryl Gane on Saturday, the last fight under his current contract and Dana White has spoken out on the situation, with the heavyweight champ making it clear he wants to make more money.
This is what White had to say, via TMZ Sports:
“I've been in contract drama for 20 years with people. It's part of the business. I honestly don't know where we'll end up after Saturday,” White says, adding, “We'll see how the fight goes, we'll see what happens and I'm sure we'll figure it out one way or another.”
The UFC president continued on and said there are no hard feelings between him and Ngannou, despite the stalemate in negotiations:
“Francis and I have had our moments over the last several years. I bumped into him at dinner a few weeks ago and we had a good conversation. It was funny because we needed to talk. We needed to see each other and the universe made it happen.”
“We'll see how these things play out. I don't blame Francis as much as I blame the not so very smart people that surround him.”
Basically, the UFC heavyweight star wants a boxing crossover in his new deal, but there is no sign that White is willing to go to those extremities for Ngannou. The Cameroonian has voiced his desire to box the likes of Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua in the future, given his impressive skillset as a striker.
White is clearly not blaming Ngannou for the lack of a new contract being signed, either. He's feuded with his manager in the past, Marquel Martin, and it appears that's part of the reason the two sides are at this point again. Nevertheless, Francis Ngannou will be focused on UFC 270 and retaining his belt against Gane.
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