Ngannou would be defending his belt in September if the UFC didn't create an interim title

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Judging by his IG he was not in the US until like mid July. So he likely wanted a full 6-8 week fight camp and August was too soon for that.

Thanks, that makes perfect sense to me.

 

[jeff7b9]

I think it is even dumber than that.

Gane vs Lewis is headlining UFC 265

265. As in the limit of heavyweight.




Someone said: Hey we should have a heavyweight title fight for UFC 265. (but didn't think of it until it was too close to 265 for Ngannou to prepare).

So they made a HW title fight for UFC 265.

 

[Dirge]

He fought the 27th March, that makes 4 months not 5.
He went 1 month home Cameroon.
Then he had residency paperwork to sort out.

So august 1st was the fight date? He still only wanted a 6-8 week fight camp. Plenty of time despite all the allowances you mentioned.

I didn't know a fighter couldn't train while having his management team do paperwork. That's a new one.

 

[Fergelmince]

Been seeing a lot of people talking about this situation and are blaming Ngannou so I just felt like making a thread to inform people what really happened and where the blame lies for Ngannou's first defense being delayed.

The UFC asked Ngannou to defend his belt against Lewis in early August in Houston(Lewis' home town). Ngannou said he couldn't fight till September. The UFC refused to schedule the fight for September and instead created an interim title so Lewis could fight for a belt against Gane in Houston.

If the UFC didn't refuse to schedule Ngannou vs Lewis 2 in September Ngannou would be fighting in September. They decided not to do this and instead scheduled Lewis vs Gane for an interim title. Ngannou likely won't fight till the end of the year or early next year cause he has to wait for his challenger and the UFC is to blame for that.

They're not going to change their whole business model for someone who hasn't defended his belt and only fights once a year.

 

[avenue94]

The UFC wanted a "hometown" fight. The "hometown" fight would (or should) generate a lot more $$$. The venue was already booked months in advance.

It's not just that the UFC has a deal with the venue. So presumably they are getting a site fee or something, which means venue expects them to deliver Lewis in a headlining fight. That requires a belt for ESPN to pony up the money.

 

[avenue94]

he "isn't available"? he's the ufc champ. the heavyweight champ. it's literally his job lol. he has nothing else to do. he won the belt in march and took zero damage. asking him to fight in august isnt some super quick unreasonable turnaround. does he need to celebrate for 5 months? he was trying to sit out and wait for jon jones. he was just fucking around doing nothing. and he was scared of losing his belt against lewis and jeopardising the jones fight

Independent contractor. It cuts both ways, if the UFC wants employees, then make fighters employees.

I think it is even dumber than that.

Gane vs Lewis is headlining UFC 265

265. As in the limit of heavyweight.




Someone said: Hey we should have a heavyweight title fight for UFC 265. (but didn't think of it until it was too close to 265 for Ngannou to prepare).

So they made a HW title fight for UFC 265.

Joe Silva approves.

Sure he does, creating hype around a fight for his fighter will increase his own pay if he gets a percentage of Lewis's earnings and he gets PPV points.

On top of potentially sucking up to the UFC by helping make Ngannou look bad. That would be the incentive to fib if they did.

 

[Sensee]

I wonder if/when Ngannou's management will get the deal done or if he will keep holding out for the money he wants. I do respect Izzy for fighting frequently. I was hoping Frank would do the same. Oh well I hope it gets settled.

 

[spinup]

I didn't know a fighter couldn't train while having his management team do paperwork. That's a new one.

The paperwork was to come back to the US. So no he couldn't be back in the gym before July.

 

[GOAT.]

UFC so desperate to sell some PPVs that they'll devalue the belt and the division by diluting it with 100 interim championship fights per year.

 

[corrupted]

I thought that despite the narrative put out there by both parties it was a slap for holding out for Jones. That is more what it looks like to me. The dates came after the fact. As soon as he started posting that he agreed with JBJ they were looking for a chance to clip his wings.