ONE Championship CEO Withdraws From the Race to Sign Former UFC Champ Francis Ngannou “After Careful Reflection”

Ever since his sensational UFC exit in January, Francis Ngannou has been one of the hottest free agents in combat sports. But is the interest in him finally starting to cool down? With the news of yet another organization withdrawing from pursuing the heavyweight, one has to wonder if Ngannou is overplaying his hand.

Quite recently, ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong confirmed the promotion’s interest in Ngannou. He had come out and stated that they were one of the parties in play for Ngannou’s signature. However, he added that the deal would have to work for both parties to come to an agreement.

Unfortunately, fight fans won’t be seeing Ngannou in the ONE Circle as the CEO’s latest statement says that have withdrawn from the race to sign him.

ONE withdraws from the race to sign Francis Ngannou

According to ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong, they had a meeting with Francis Ngannou at the end of which they decided not to pursue him. Sityodtong added it was nothing personal but rather a matter of other differences.

He said, “I met Francis for almost three hours. After careful reflection, we decided not to submit our final offer. I didn’t feel Francis and I were fully aligned on non-financial matters. It is nothing personal.”

Speaking earlier, the ONE CEO had mentioned that they were preparing to give Ngannou the biggest offer on the table. That would have been their final offer to the Cameroonian and it would have beaten all the other offers, had the parties come to an agreement.

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Francis Ngannou has been linked to several top promotions since his exit. Two of them have turned him down since then for various reasons. Prior to ONE, ‘The Predator’ was in talks with BKFC who said he was asking for “unrealistic money.“

Why did BKFC decline Ngannou?

While Chatri Sityodtong had non-financial disagreements with Ngannou, the same cannot be said for BKFC president David Feldman. Ngannou had turned down lucrative contracts from the UFC for more freedom to move around in his fighting career.

However, at BKFC, money became the issue. Feldman said, “We’ve talked to him, we’ve reached out to his team, you know. At this point, we just feel like he’s asking for unrealistic money. We are not willing to pay that kind of money for him.” 

With more promotions pulling out of the race, things might get bleak for the former champion really fast. Do you think Ngannou is making the right choices in these negotiations? Will he regret leaving the UFC? Where do you think he will eventually fight?

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Let us know in the comments below.