What should the UFC do with Ngannou's contract situation?

[HockeyBjj]

They really gonna hardball their Heavyweight champion and force him to sit out 2 years because they don't want to pay him more than $600k?

I feel there's an avenue to 1) pay the man. He should be making at least 1.5 mil per UFC fight as base pay. They have the money, they paid a whopping 2 million dollars in total fighter salary on the card (California AC makes them release fighter pay). That is covered by a measly 26,667 PPV buys at $75 a piece. Plus the ads everywhere and TV deals in non-ppv countries.

And 2) instead of paying hardball, Tyson Fury really wants to fight Ngannou in a boxing ring. UFC needs to enter the negotiations of what it would take to do a cross-promotion like they did with Connor vs Floyd. Rather than making it Ngannou vs UFC to get the boxing match, UFC can work with it and make some cash as well. Loan out Ngannou for like 30% of his boxing purse or something, or 50% of the profit from the event if they promote it too .

Ngannou gets his boxing match and payday, and UFC get their palm greased in the process and a taste of the mega boxing PPV revenue. And then their HW champ comes back to the octagon afterwards and we're not left with 3 years of what feels like an interim champ of whoever holds the strap while Francis is on the out.

 

[BigTruck]

He said he's a free agent in December so he will sit out till then. I dont think he's interested in the UFC at all anymore and just wants out.

 

[gaffbyknees2]

Try paying him.

 

[Busgosu]

UFC fucked up and now Ngannou only needs to sit out, get his knees fixed thanks to UFC's medical coverage, wait til December, fight Fury and then cash in more money than he'll ever win in the UFC with just one fight.
What they can do is take the L.

 

[AP_RESURRECTION]

UFC doesn't care and neither do fans really. They will just let him leave or retire like everyone else and then call the next fighter the best and you all will love it.

 

[Colite]

A deal is a deal, he could have not signed the contract.

 

[SmoothPies]

I'm not one of the people that typically assumes fighters are underpaid. Afterall, we don't know the financials the UFC are working with behind the scenes.

BUT. When Dana comes out and says that 2021 was the UFC's best year, and you are paying your HW champ, a fighter who can theoretically beat everyone else in the sport, around as much as you paid CM Punk 5 years ago, something is seriously wrong

 

[Buff]

Try paying him.

This.

Pay the man his dues, and let them bang.

 

[Optimus15]

Problem is you pay him millions and then what? He’s likely going to get beat soon as do all heavyweight champions.

 

[gaffbyknees2]

Honestly the time has come where all the fighters should cut the bullshit. While it may be true there are too many fighters for a strike to actually work there are far less MMA managers. They should all hold tight and get their clients to not fight until a larger more fair deal is done. UFC would get their ass in gear fast because without the fighters they have nothing but a pink good talking nonsense.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

They really gonna hardball their Heavyweight champion and force him to sit out 2 years because they don't want to pay him more than $600k?

I feel there's an avenue to 1) pay the man. He should be making at least 1.5 mil per UFC fight as base pay. They have the money, they paid a whopping 2 million dollars in total fighter salary on the card (California AC makes them release fighter pay). That is covered by a measly 26,667 PPV buys at $75 a piece. Plus the ads everywhere and TV deals in non-ppv countries.

And 2) instead of paying hardball, Tyson Fury really wants to fight Ngannou in a boxing ring. UFC needs to enter the negotiations of what it would take to do a cross-promotion like they did with Connor vs Floyd. Rather than making it Ngannou vs UFC to get the boxing match, UFC can work with it and make some cash as well. Loan out Ngannou for like 30% of his boxing purse or something, or 50% of the profit from the event if they promote it too .

Ngannou gets his boxing match and payday, and UFC get their palm greased in the process and a taste of the mega boxing PPV revenue. And then their HW champ comes back to the octagon afterwards and we're not left with 3 years of what feels like an interim champ of whoever holds the strap while Francis is on the out.

I dunno if they wanted to pay him $600k, that was his old contract. Has anyone actually mentioned what the rejected offer was?

 

[daniel san]

They should probably just pay up. Match him up against unathletic/poor strikers and we get a couple of more KO highlight reels, or match him up against Volkov if you want to increase the risk of him losing. Ngannou fighting in boxing should be avoided until his MMA career is over. He punches hard but he got outstruck by Gane, who actually believes he has a shot at beating an elite boxer?

 

[Argonaut]

He should 100% take the Fury fight as soon as possible if Fury can get past Usyk.

The stinginess of the UFC should win them no favors. Francis should be making Jon Jones money or more. $5m a fight because he's the best.

But the UFC has no incentive to pay any of their fighters well because they bought any serious competition long ago, like Pride, Elite XC, Strikeforce, WEC.

MMA fighters have no where to go, so if they can make decent money elsewhere, they should.

 

[Black Paladin]

Ngannou:
Eat at the Performance Institute two or three times a day. After the surgery, do his rehab exercises there. And wait.

UFC:
????

 

[Ace70 V2]

He said he's a free agent in December so he will sit out till then. I dont think he's interested in the UFC at all anymore and just wants out.

He's gotta sit out for surgery anyways so it may work out for him

 

[Black Paladin]

He punches hard but he got outstruck by Gane,

It is a TOTALLY DIFFERENT SITUATION when you are just throwing punches, versus punches plus kicks (kickboxing), or all kinds of threats (MMA).

I don't think Gane would have fared as well if it were pure boxing. (I bet Gane, by the way. Jus' sayin'.)

 

[Tito Tapped]

That is covered by a measly 26,667 PPV buys at $75 a piece. Plus the ads everywhere and TV deals in non-ppv countries.

Are you suggesting ESPN and other TV networks pay Ngannou?

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Problem is you pay him millions and then what? He’s likely going to get beat soon as do all heavyweight champions.

It’s not just that. He made all this public. If the UFC gives in they will be inviting every other champ or high level contender to pull the same thing. And unless the numbers from 270 prove Ngannou actually is a draw (Which seems unlikely). How do they invite non-draws to just buck the system like that?

The people just saying “just pay him” aren’t seeing the big picture here.

 

[HockeyBjj]

I dunno if they wanted to pay him $600k, that was his old contract. Has anyone actually mentioned what the rejected offer was?

This is a good point. Yeah, I'm sure the UFC offered him some sort of extension after he beat Stipe, probably before. It would be good to know what that offer was before taking sides too hard.

But I mean, UFC doesn't really get much benefit of the doubt. But solid point brought up by you

 

[HockeyBjj]

He said he's a free agent in December so he will sit out till then. I dont think he's interested in the UFC at all anymore and just wants out.

Right. So what could the UFC do to make him not want out? Or are they gonna go down with this ship?

For once, it seems a fighter finally has (some) leverage over the UFC. But Francis will have to wait until December, and then for 1 year Francis can only talk contracts with the UFC. So the soonest Francis could fight for another promotion would be April 2024. And that's a long time without making any money, and collecting ring rust.