The UFC Dropped the Ball with Francis Ngannou Says Frank Mir

28/08/2024 11:19

Former UFC heavyweight Frank Mir isn't a fan of how the Ultimate Fighting Championship treated Francis Ngannou.

As we know, Francis Ngannou opted to leave the UFC due to a contract dispute a few years ago. Since then, he's made some truly incredible money courtesy of his two boxing showdowns with Tyson Fury and Anthony Josuha.

Unfortunately for mixed martial arts fans, the UFC and Ngannou just weren’t able to come to terms on a new deal.

In the following interview, Frank Mir really opens up on how this whole thing has played out.

Frank Mir questions UFC over Francis Ngannou

“I think the situation was handled poorly. I mean, they already had the blueprint to handle it the same way they handled Conor and Mayweather. I don’t know why they didn’t do the same thing. They sit there and go, ‘Okay. Right now, Francis is, you know, a highly regarded combat athlete. He’s our champion. They’re talking about doing a boxing match with him versus, you know like, at the time, Tyson Fury-type fight.’ Cool. Co-promotion; just work it together like they did, you know.”

“Let Francis keep the lion’s share of the income. The UFC is not going to, you’re not going to lose, change their lifestyle if they don’t make millions off this fight. It’s like, just be a part of it, show good camaraderie. It shows, I mean, to me, it shows the loyalty then to the fighters that show such a high level. I really think the ball was dropped there.”

Quotes via Sportskeeda

It's likely that none of us will ever know what really happened between the UFC and the former king. What we do know, though, is that Francis Ngannou will put it all on the line when he inevitably collides with Renan Ferreira.