Francis Ngannou to Undergo Surgery on Knee Injury After Defending Title at UFC 270
Jan 26, 2022
Champion Cameroon's Francis Ngannou holds the championship belt in the press room after defeating French Cyril Gane in their UFC 270 championship fight in Anaheim on January 22, 2022. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Francis Ngannou will undergo surgery on his knee after suffering a torn MCL and damaged ACL, his manager Marquel Martin told Brett Okamoto of ESPN.
The injuries reportedly occurred during the build-up to his fight against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270, which Ngannou won to retain his UFC heavyweight championship. It was the sixth straight win for the 35-year-old, including his knockout of Stipe Miocic for the belt in March 2021.
Martin projected Ngannou's recovery to last about nine months before he is able to train or compete again.
The injury comes at an interesting time for Ngannou, who has said he wouldn't take part in another UFC fight without a new contract.
Per Okamoto, Ngannou has completed eight fights as part of his initial eight-part contract. Though he would have been a free agent if he lost on Saturday, the win triggers a "champion's clause" that keeps him under contract for either three fights or one year.
The No. 4 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC rankings said he would hold out if necessary, but the knee injury could prevent him from competing over this time frame anyway.
The surgery also pushes back some potentially exciting bouts for Ngannou going forward.
The fighter teased a boxing match against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury if allowed by UFC:
These superstars will have to find new opponents while Ngannou recovers from his surgery, which will take place after he returns to the United States from a planned trip home to Cameroon.
"I continue to be amazed and inspired by Francis' heart and resilience," Martin told Okamoto. "Fighting on one leg to overcome all odds, and remind the world he is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. I think we can all agree he deserves some time to go back home and be with his family and countrymen."
B/R MMA Mailbag: Answering Your Post-UFC 270 and Diaz-Poirier Questions
Jan 26, 2022
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - JUNE 12: Nate Diaz enters the octagon to fight Leon Edwards of Jamaica during their UFC 263 welterweight match at Gila River Arena on June 12, 2021 in Glendale, Arizona.
Welcome back to the B/R MMA Mailbag. Here's where we answer your questions about the MMA issues of the day.
UFC 270 is in the rearview, and it may have raised more questions than it answered. After his unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane in Saturday's main event, heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou faces a fork in the road. As does the UFC.
There has been plenty of talk about contracts of late. With a sizable lawsuit bringing more company details into the public sphere, our knowledge of fighter contracts and UFC business practices is more fleshed out than ever.
Why is this timely? More than one of this week's questions deal squarely with issues related to contracts. So let's jump right in. Want to see your question featured? Drop it in the mailbag each Monday, and I'll answer a selection of them here. Extra points for a solid piece of sarcasm.
Why didn't Dana White put the belt on Francis and no-show the presser after the fight?
@PhilAccio
To properly answer this question, one must first plunge oneself down the contractual rabbit hole.
Dana White is a tenacious—some might say pugnacious—negotiator. He doesn't like it when anyone else has leverage. But Ngannou has a big share after Saturday's title defense.
Here's the background: As many fans know, this was the last fight on Ngannou's existing contract. However, the UFC may invoke the champion's clause, which automatically extends that contract.
And yet, there was Ngannou talking openly about boxing Tyson Fury. Why? Because he has an ace up his sleeve—a belief that he could simply wait out the contract until early 2023. A perfect amount of time to undergo and rehab from, oh, I don't know, a knee surgery.
In case you missed it, that's matchmaker Mick Maynard putting the belt around #AndStill Champion Francis Ngannou. Let the conspiracy theories commence.#UFC270pic.twitter.com/MTCO9iAt7U
White is well aware of all of this and as such was surely rooting for Gane—don't forget, Gane was the favorite in this matchup.
But Ngannou used that much-improved wrestling to turn the tables on Gane and White. So White, most likely in an agitated state after the contest, did what he does best: spit in the eyes of his adversaries, real and perceived. White didn't like what happened, so he took his ball and went home. No respect to the champ, no answering questions on something he doesn't want to talk about. We'll see how negotiations unfold from here and how Ngannou proceeds with that knee surgery.
When the dust settles, what fight will we end up seeing for the last fight of the Nate Diaz contract? Diaz-Poirier, Diaz-McGregor or Diaz flipping off the UFC?
@SchwinnArmstrong
I like to picture Nate Diaz just flipping the bird to everyone he sees. It's more like a greeting for Nate at this point. He holds the door for an old lady, she says thank you, he flips the bird. He's waiting for his latte at Starbucks, they call his name, he takes the latte and flips the bird to each barista one at a time. Then he accuses them all of taking PEDs. (Warning: tweet contains profanity)
That's the world I want to live in. In the world in which I actually live, contract issues are once again rearing their ugly heads.
Diaz is indeed on the final fight of his contract. But wait, you may be asking, didn't the UFC just extend his contract? Yes, but there's one little snag. Per MMA broadcaster Ariel Helwani, Diaz never signed it (h/tBloody Elbow'sMilan Ordonez).
Diaz is spoiling for a battle with Poirier, but according to Helwani, the UFC may not let it happen unless Diaz extends his contract by one fight so he can also face McGregor when the notorious Irishman returns from the leg disintegration he sustained in his last bout with Poirier (h/tMMA Mania'sRyan Harkness).
The alternative is for Diaz to wait to face McGregor in McGregor's return bout. But there are a lot of ifs in that scenario, not least of which is a potential McGregor date with lightweight champ Charles Oliveira or one of several other high-octane bangers in the UFC's current marquee division. Are you telling me you wouldn't shell out to see McGregor face Michael Chandler or Tony Ferguson? Of course not. To a lesser extent, McGregor's recovery timeline is a factor, though summer is an increasingly likely target.
There's a lot of uncertainty here, but my guess is the UFC will pull the trigger on Diaz-Poirier. That's a big pay-per-view draw, and with Diaz now 36 years old, the window won't stay open forever. McGregor will attract main-event-level eyeballs no matter whom he faces, so that matchmaking is more likely to take care of itself. Poirier and to a lesser extent Diaz need strong dance partners to make a surefire headliner.
As they say, a bird in the hand [dons sunglasses] is worth two in the bush.
What happens first, a fourth fight between Figgy and Moreno or does Kara-France get a shot?
@TheWolfofBroadSt
Good question. Figgy, aka Deiveson Figueiredo, recaptured the flyweight title in the UFC 270 co-main event, leg-kicking his way to a unanimous decision win over Brandon Moreno.
With their first contest being a draw, and with each man now having one win over the other, there's clearly some unfinished business here.
ANAHEIM, CA - JANUARY 22: (R-L) Brandon Moreno battles Deiveson Figueiredo in their Flyweight championship fight during UFC 270 on January 22, 2022, at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Kai Kara-France is an electric striker, coming out of City Kickboxing in New Zealand, training alongside middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and plenty of others. He got the biggest win of his career in December when he wiped out former bantamweight champ and current glass cannon Cody Garbrandt. He's climbing the ladder in a big way, but he's still just 3-2 in his last five dating back to 2019.
Another strong possibility is Askar Askarov, an undefeated Dagestani whom Moreno fought to a draw, also in 2019. His grinding style isn't pretty, but it's damned effective.
And hey, here's a neat twist: In a piece of solid match-making, Kara-France and Askarov are set to face off in March. The winner will be locked in as the top contender outside of Moreno and Figgy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnkSM9kcQXg
The UFC hasn't been quick to make a fourth fight between two rivals. In fact, they've never done it at all. There's no better time than now to break that seal. Both fighters have agreed in principle to a fourth bout, perhaps in Mexico or Brazil.
The action between them is fierce, the margins razor thin. I think the UFC sets a new precedent and books these two greats for a historic matchup later this year.
We'll stop there for now, but see you next week. In the meantime, feel free to follow me on Twitter @ScottHarrisMMA.
UFC Hall of Famer Don Frye Punches Fan on Video at UFC 270; Says Man Challenged Him
Jan 25, 2022
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 06: (L-R) Former heavyweight tournament champion Don Frye talks to Brian Stann during the UFC International Fight Week Legends Panel at the Park Theater on July 6, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC Hall of Fame fighter Don Frye
punched a fan Saturday night following a verbal confrontation during
UFC 270 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Frye told TMZ Sports the fan, who he said appeared intoxicated, bumped
into him and then challenged him to a fight.
The 56-year-old Arizona native returned
to his seat and was allowed to stay for the remainder of the card,
per TMZ. It's unclear what happened with the fan.
Frye was one of the UFC's first stars
as he won the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate '96 tournament titles in
addition to an appearance in the UFC 10 tournament final. He started
his career with a 15-1 record that included wins over Ken Shamrock
and Mark Hall.
His last MMA bout came in 2011.
He started his combat sports career as
a boxer in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He's also spent time as a
kickboxer, professional wrestler and actor.
Frye was inducted in the UFC Hall of
Fame in 2016.
Jake Paul Says He Invested in EDR Stock to Boost UFC Fighter Pay, Provide Healthcare
Jan 25, 2022
TAMPA, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 18: Jake Paul reacts to knocking out Tyron Woddley in the sixth round during an eight-round cruiserweight bout at the Amalie Arena on December 18, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Jake Paul's ongoing crusade against UFC took an interesting turn on Monday.
The controversial YouTube star announced on Twitter he has purchased stock in Endeavor Group, UFC's parent company, with the goal of increasing fighter pay and healthcare:
I’ve invested in EDR (UFC) stock with my partner @geoffreywoo 2 focus on UFCs ESG standards relating to fighters. We believe EDR can drive long-term economic value by increasing UFC fighter pay & providing them healthcare. Reaching out to @EngineNo_1 to partner on this “endeavor”
Paul and UFC president Dana White have engaged in a back and forth in the aftermath of Paul's victory over Tyron Woodley in a boxing match on Dec. 18.
Paul tweeted on Jan. 1 he would retire from boxing and fight Jorge Masvidal in UFC if White agreed to his terms that included increasing minimum payout for fighters and guaranteeing UFC fighters 50 percent of the company's annual revenue:
Happy new year @danawhite. Here is a real challenge for you…
I will immediately retire from boxing and fight Jorge Masvidal in the UFC if you agree to: pic.twitter.com/bJScDVITvL
Paul's comments about the way UFC pays fighters has come back to the forefront after UFC 270 on Saturday night.
Per Andreas Hale of Sporting News, the 22 fighters on the UFC 270 card combined to make $1.8 million.
Francis Ngannou, who defeated Ciryl Gane in the main event to become the undisputed heavyweight champion, told ESPN's Brett Okamoto (h/t Bloody Elbow's Kristen King) prior to the event he won't fight for UFC again under his current contract:
"No, I will not fight for $500,000, $600,000 anymore. I mean, it’s over. It’s over. I just did this. I took this fight for a personal reason, and because I want to make sure that regardless, even if it’s unfair, I have been wrongly treated, I can make my case to say that I have completed the eight fights. But no."
Per Corey Leff of Sportico, UFC made an estimated $930 million in 2021, with the expectation it could increase to $1.031 billion this year.
UFC only covers healthcare costs for injuries suffered during competition or in training for a fight.
UFC 270, the promotion's first pay-per-view of the year, went down Saturday in Anaheim, California. That means it's time for an update to B/R's pound-for-pound UFC rankings...
Francis Ngannou: UFC Threatened to Sue Agent Over Alleged Talks with Jake Paul's Team
Jan 25, 2022
Champion Cameroon's Francis Ngannou takes questions in the press room after defeating French Cyril Gane in their UFC 270 championship fight in Anaheim on January 22, 2022. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou's relationship with the promotion is not in a good place.
Ngannou revealed on Monday's episode of The MMA Hour that the UFC threatened to sue his agent, Marquel Martin, over allegedly having talks with Jake Paul's business partner, Nakisa Bidarian, about Ngannou competing in boxing.
"I walked into the room waiting for my manager, my coach," Ngannou said on The MMA Hour (h/t ESPN's Marc Raimondi). "And they were like, 'Wow.' I'm like, 'What's going on?' They told me they just received an email from the UFC saying they're going to sue [Martin] for talking with this guy, Nakisa. Yeah. I'm like, 'Who is Nakisa?'"
Bidarian has ties to the UFC as the promotion's former chief financial officer. He's the co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions alongside Paul. It's also notable that Martin is an agent with Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which is a rival company to Endeavor. Endeavor has a prominent stake in the UFC and a strong relationship with president Dana White.
Ngannou said Martin received the email a few hours before his main event fight at UFC 270 against interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane. Ngannou won the fight by unanimous decision to unify the titles.
Ngannou has been embroiled in a contract dispute with the UFC for quite some time now. As Raimondi noted, Saturday's main event was the last fight on Ngannou's UFC contract, but because he won, the "champions clause" kicks in and keeps him under contract for either three more fights or one year. He would've been a free agent had he lost the fight.
Ngannou said his current contract pays him $600,000 per fight, but his dissatisfaction is not solely because of the money. He said on The MMA Hour that he wants the freedom to compete in boxing while he's in the UFC, which is something the promotion has never allowed.
"You can be free and fight for the UFC," Ngannou said. "I just want to be free. We are supposedly independent contractors. [An] independent contractor is technically a free person. That's the reason why they need some adjustments in that contract. That's what I've been fighting for."
After seeing Ngannou's UFC 270 payday on Monday, Paul tweeted his support for fighters earning more money:
I can’t stress enough how bad this is..
My next step for helping with this situation will be announced tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Ngannou has shown Paul respect for his in-ring performance in recent months. He told TMZ Sports last month that he was "impressed" by Paul defeating Tyron Woodley in their rematch. He also noted people "better take him seriously because he proved it."
Now, alleged communication between the two sides has created an additional rift between the UFC and Ngannou, though it's not clear at this point when Ngannou will be able to fight again.
Ngannou revealed after UFC 270 that he was competing while suffering from a torn right MCL and damaged ACL. He will undergo surgery and is expected to be out for an extended period. He said that while he still hopes to compete again this year, no one from the UFC has approached him or his team regarding a new contract.
"It doesn't look like they want to talk to me anymore," he said.
UFC's Dana White Expects Conor McGregor to Fight This Summer Following Leg Injury
Jan 24, 2022
Conor McGregor arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center on Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Dana White believes Conor McGregor will be back in the Octagon at some point this year—perhaps as soon as the summer.
"He's doing all the right things with his leg. I'm hoping he can come back this summer," White told TMZ Sports.
McGregor has been out of action since July when he broke his tibia in the first round of his UFC 264 fight against Dustin Poirier.
While McGregor is the most famous face in MMA, he's lost two straight fights against Poirier and three of his past four overall. He's clearly not been the same fighter since his 2017 knockout loss to Floyd Mayweather in McGregor's pro boxing debut.
A win against an overmatched Donald Cerrone is McGregor's only triumph in MMA since that fight. Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor in their hyped UFC 229 bout, and Poirier dominated their UFC 257 clash that set up the rematch at UFC 264. While McGregor seemingly had a better strategy for his rematch against Poirier, it's been more than five years since he was the sport's top pound-for-pound fighter.
Not that McGregor's waning skills matter all that much to White, who knows the Irishman remains his promotion's biggest draw. Once McGregor is fully cleared for a return to MMA, expect no hesitation from White in booking him for a pay-per-view main event.
Francis Ngannou is still the UFC heavyweight champion, but his fighting future is shrouded in mystery. Ngannou was back in action in the main event of UFC 270 on Saturday night in ...
Francis Ngannou Teases Tyson Fury Fight After UFC 270 Win vs. Ciryl Gane
Jan 23, 2022
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 22: Francis Ngannou of Cameroon looks on prior to the heavyweight title fight against Ciryl Gane of France during the UFC 270 event at Honda Center on January 22, 2022 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
Francis Ngannou seems on board for a fight against Tyson Fury based on Sunday's response to the heavyweight boxing champion:
Ngannou defeated Cyril Gane by decision at UFC 270 to retain the UFC heavyweight title Saturday night. It was his sixth win in a row, including a knockout victory over Stipe Miocic to first win the belt.
The question is what comes next for the 35-year-old, who said last week that he would not fight again in the UFC without a new contract, per ESPN's Brett Okamoto. While Ngannou completed the eight fights guaranteed in his last deal, Okamoto noted a champion's clause allows the UFC to keep him under contract for either three fights or one year.
Ngannou has still said he wants to try boxing before he retires and is looking to challenge himself against the best in the world.
"Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder. I would like to test myself to that level," Francis told TMZ Sports in December.
"It's not the same sport, although I'm the champion, I'm in the top in this division," he added. "At the end of the day, it's just about like trained hands, trained punches, having a good delivery system to produce bombs and I'm sure that if I deliver my own punch, it's pretty good, I can make some damage."
Fury, the current WBC champion, also teased a potential match against Ngannou earlier this month.
This would likely be a highly anticipated battle if the two sides can work it out on paper.
Jon Jones on Francis Ngannou, Ciryl Gane After UFC 270: 'I'm F--king Them Both Up'
Jan 23, 2022
Jon Jones goes through his pre-fight routine in the ring before a light heavyweight mixed martial arts bout against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Amid speculation that he could move up to heavyweight, Jon Jones chimed in on his thoughts about Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane after their showdown at UFC 270 on Saturday night.
In a since-deleted post on Twitter, Jones wrote, "At the end of the day, I'm f--king them both up."
Ngannou defeated Gane by unanimous decision on Saturday night to win the undisputed UFC heavyweight championship.
There has been talk for a long time about Jones potentially fighting at heavyweight after dominating the light heavyweight division for years. The only loss of his career came via disqualification for use of illegal elbows against Matt Hamill in a 2009 fight he was otherwise dominating.
UFC President Dana White told ESPN (h/t MMAFighting.com) in 2015 that Jones was "definitely" planning on fighting at heavyweight.
Seven years later, Jones has yet to compete in any division other than light heavyweight. White did attempt to set up a match between Bones and Ngannou in 2020, but he told reporters talks broke down because Jones was seeking a massive payout in line with what Deontay Wilder was paid to fight Tyson Fury in a boxing match.
"I'll quote him and what he had said to my lawyer. He told my lawyer he wants what Deontay Wilder was paid (for his most recent fight)," White said. "I think it was $30 million, was what Deontay Wilder was paid."
Ngannou no longer sounds like he's interested in a fight with Jones.
"No, I'm done with that fight," he told reporters following Saturday's event. "I've been waiting for that fight for so long. After Stipe [Miocic], it was supposed to be Jon Jones, and that never happened. I don't know why. So I moved on."
Jones announced in August 2020 he vacated the UFC light heavyweight title. The 34-year-old hasn't fought since February 2020 when he defeated Dominick Reyes at UFC 247.
