Francis Ngannou himself is to blame for contract dispute with UFC, says Chael Sonnen.
Ngannou has been engaged in longstanding contract negotiations with the promotion as he aspires for a more lucrative salary.
However, there hasn’t been a deal in place yet despite several months of dialogue.
In the eyes of many, Ngannou is the victim of the situation. But as far as Sonnen is concerned, Ngannou’s lack of mainstream appeal prevents the UFC from giving him a bigger payday.
Sonnen mentioned the likes of Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, Brock Lesnar, and Chuck Liddell as fighters who have made a tremendous amount of money in the UFC. According to Sonnen, Ngannou is unlike the names he listed, as he does not draw in big PPV sales:
“There could be big fights for Francis. I will tell you, I care. I sound like anti-[Francis but] I care. I go into the category of a Francis fan. But Francis vs. Ciryl wasn’t a big fight. We don’t get to choose that. That’s not an opinion. … It’s the single greatest storyline in the history of the heavyweight division. But you had two guys who didn’t want to go to the media and didn’t want to tell a story.”
Listen to Chael Sonnen’s thoughts on Francis Ngannou:
Chael Sonnen thinks Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones could be a money fight
The way Chael Sonnen sees it, Jon Jones is the only opponent that could count as a big-money fight for Francis Ngannou. Sonnen believes that Jones vs. Ngannou could do well in PPV sales even if both fighters aren’t good promoters. The former three-time UFC title challenger said:
“Jon Jones and Francis [Ngannou], I believe, works. Jon’s not gonna be terribly helpful with that, he’s just not. And Francis isn’t gonna be terribly helpful. But I think we have enough that we can do that. We can create it anywhere.”
Jones is said to be eyeing an octagon return sometime in March 2023. MMA journalist Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC has Ngannou penciled in for Jones’ return.
However, perennial contender Curtis Blaydes is also in the mix as Jones’ first heavyweight opponent. Ngannou is currently without a contract with the UFC and is rehabbing a knee injury he suffered earlier this year.