Francis Ngannou claims the UFC rejected his demand for all fighters to receive health insurance
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Francis Ngannou has revealed that he walked away from the UFC after three of his demands were rejected in contract negotiations, one of which was that all fighters receive free health insurance through the company.
UFC president Dana White announced Saturday night that Ngannou, the promotion’s now former heavyweight champion, will be released from his contract after the two sides failed to agree on new terms.
White went on to claim that the 36-year-old had turned down an offer that would have made him the highest-paid heavyweight of all time, while also confirming that he would be stripped of his title.
Now Ngannou has given his side of the story after the weekend bombshell, insisting that his surprising departure is not ‘all for money’.
Francis Ngannou opened up about his failed UFC talks during an appearance on MMA Hour
Dana White revealed over the weekend that Ngannou had turned down a new contract with the UFC
Therefore, the 36-year-old was stripped of his heavyweight title and released as a result.
During a riveting appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour, Ngannou accused UFC officials of turning down three requests on behalf of his fellow fighters; covering sponsorship rights, free health insurance, and an advocate to represent them at board meetings.
“What I’ve learned is that you don’t go to the negotiating table expecting to get everything you want, but at least you want your partner on the other side to show willingness or at least try,” he said.
So I ordered a lot of things. It doesn’t mean that I expected all of those things, but I did list one or two of those things.
“I asked for sponsorship, the right to sponsorship, they have cheated us. We cannot have sponsorships.
‘I asked for health insurance, I couldn’t. And I asked for a fighter advocate, someone at board meetings who could advocate for a fighter. I asked for that.
‘I couldn’t have those things I asked for. But I just wanted them to know that it’s something I do want, and I also wanted them to at least consider it.
But Ngannou has now given his side of the story, claiming that the UFC denied three of his requests, including for all fighters to receive free health insurance through the company.
‘Nerd. They said they don’t do business like that. They said I can pay for my health insurance. And I said yes, I can afford my health insurance, for me at this point it’s not a problem, but what about those guys at the bottom who do ten plus ten? They really can’t afford health insurance. And I’ve been there, so it’s something that’s still on my heart.
‘Yes, I asked that for everyone. I knew it couldn’t happen, but I asked.
Ngannou went on to explain how the UFC bosses were prepared to give him the three-fight contract he was asking for, and that Jon Jones, who is now set to fight Ciryl Gane for the vacant title, was at the top of his wish list. . this year.
However, as negotiations began to sour, the Cameroonian-French heavyweight felt that White was eavesdropping on his conversations with UFC executive vice president Hunter Campbell.
“For some reason, I don’t know why, I feel like Dana White was in the room with Hunter,” Ngannou said. ‘I had that feeling. She was in the room, she was sitting somewhere listening to our conversation.
‘Because he was like okay, this is it, let’s delete this. And it didn’t work unfortunately.
He also felt that White was listening in on his conversations with other UFC officials about a new contract.
When asked about White’s press conference over the weekend, he later said: “I saw a part of it, and at one point I stopped watching and was like ‘bulls***.’
‘Dana is Dana, I don’t care what she says. Dana can’t hurt me, saying things can’t hurt me. Where I come from I’ve heard much worse than that.
‘So what he said is what he said, it’s his problem. What I know is that I am here and I have a good future.
“I don’t think this situation was expected, because no matter what he says, he is upset. He is not happy with this situation, he saw his champion leave, something that probably has never happened to him.”