Jake’s Takes – Francis Ngannou beat the UFC system

In the past week, I’ve seen a lot of takes regarding Francis Ngannou. This is natural, of course. His move to the world of professional boxing was made official and it’s against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, no less. These opinions have been a major switch in tone, given that these same people were signing the sirens of doom just a few months ago.

Ngannou’s departure from the UFC caused many fans and pundits to spread lots of negativity. Aside from their wanting for the reigning champ to remain with the UFC and take on Jon Jones, it feels like the majority of the community felt that Ngannou had passed up the best possible offer. They felt that he wouldn’t find a deal as lucrative. UFC president Dana White claimed that Ngannou refused a contract that would’ve made him the highest-paid heavyweight of all-time, reportedly in the range of $8m over three fights.

While this is definitely high pay by the UFC’s standards, Ngannou made it clear from the beginning that his frustrations were about more than money. The core of demands were providing better working conditions for all fighters in the promotion, including individual sponsorship, a fighter advocate at negotiations, a healthcare program and the ability to compete in boxing. That large sum that he was offered by White and Hunter Campbell would’ve solved his issues about pay, but it didn’t address the concerns he had about his fellow comeptitors.

This wasn’t an oversight on the UFC’s part; they plainly rejected these demands. Anyone who has been an MMA fan for some time now will understand that the promotion aren’t interested in others’ ideas about their business model. They feel that there’s no need to change their methods. They’re quite happy to continue on as they are and, if you don’t like it, you can “go start your own promotion.”

Ngannou wasn’t ready to go back on his word. He refused to sign all the contracts offered to him by the UFC, ultimately being released in January of this year. His title was stripped, the promotion waived their right to match any offers and it was official: the UFC heavyweight champion was now a free agent. It’s a situation that hasn’t occured since BJ Penn gave up his welterweight belt to compete in K-1, but that was in 2004. The UFC wasn’t the definitive leader in the sport and Penn felt that he could take on better competition in Japan.

The same can’t be said for today. The best fighters in the world, particularly at heavyweight, do compete in the UFC. Ngannou didn’t move because he was looking for harder fights. He moved because he knew the UFC was never going to be willing to see to his demands.

Offers from Bellator, ONE Championship and BKFC rolled in, all of which Ngannou rejected, citing the same reasons as before. ONE’s Chatri Sityodtong went so far as saying that he had offered Ngannou $20m, but it had been turned down. The negativity continued to spread; “Nobody wants Ngannou,”, “he’s asking for too much money”, “he fumbled the bag.”

Eventually, it was announced that Ngannou had signed with the PFL. The deal is unlike anything that has been seen in MMA; he will serve as an executive for PFL Africa, a fighter advocate at contract negotiations and will have equity in the company. Once he makes his debut, which is expected to be in 2024, he will receive a cut of the pay-per-view sales, while his opponents will make a minimum of $1m. He will also be permitted to box before his move to the Smart Cage.

Between the PFL deal and the recently unveiled fight with Fury, where Ngannou is expected to take home a seven-figure purse, it’s clear to me that the Cameroonian hasn’t ‘fumbled the bag’, so to speak.

Ngannou isn’t a particularly big draw in MMA. His pay-per-view main events have averaged a buy rate around the 300,000. That’s not great, in today’s landscape. Still, he was able to leverage what star power he has and scored himself two life-changing deals.

In theory, a move of this magnitude should lay the blueprint for other fighters; there are paths outside the UFC that will both pay well and provide benefits that can’t be found there. In reality, I don’t think others would see as much success as Ngannou and, hence, they’d be deterred from leaving. No one, with the exception of Conor McGregor, Jon Jones and maybe Israel Adesanya, will be able to leap right into a boxing match with a world champion. In regards to other MMA promotions, though, the avenues are there for fighters to receive deals that pay out and provide more.

I’d love to see fighters explore free agency more often. The opportunities are there; Ngannou, Nate Diaz, Anthony Pettis and Jose Aldo have dived into the ever-popular world of spectacle boxing. Shane Burgos is reporting much higher purses in the PFL. Having the vast majority of the world’s best fighter under one roof is fantastic. It increases the odds that we’ll see the matchups that we want. It’s important to remember, however, that this sport is about the fighters. Without them, there is no MMA. I think we, as a community, should be supporting these athletes in their search for a company that will treat them the best.

The UFC’s monopsonistic stranglehold on fighters is being challenged. Not just by the ongoing antitrust lawsuit, but by Ngannou. He has beaten the system. Now, he wants others to follow suit.

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