Daniel Cormier believes Francis Ngannou should ‘bite the bullet’ and return to the UFC: ‘While you may cash in one time, it may not be sustainable’
Daniel Cormier thinks Francis Ngannou should re-sign with the UFC.
After Ngannou defeated Ciryl Gane to defend his heavyweight title for the first time, it was revealed he fought out his contract and the UFC ended up releasing him after months of negotiations. Since then, however, Ngannou has yet to sign with a promotion due to how much money he wants and Cormier thinks Ngannou has very few options now.
“It sucks because Francis was the man and he leaves, and now it seems like the options are very limited,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC” (h/t MMAJunkie). “He responded to ONE Championship this morning saying they’re being two-faced, but I’m telling you, it felt like the same thing that was happening to Lamar. I’m watching teams like, ‘You don’t have a quarterback, but you’re not interested in Lamar Jackson?’ This guy was the MVP of the NFL. It made no sense.
“To me, it’s the same thing. But ultimately Lamar Jackson ends up back (with the Baltimore Ravens). I believe that’s what Francis Ngannou should do. Francis Ngannou should just come back, because the reality is this: The money that he was offered, I’ve heard, was a very lucrative number,” Cormier said. “If he comes back, nothing changes. He walks right back into being in the heavyweight title picture, fighting for the championship, getting paid at that championship level.”
With the likes of Bellator and ONE Championship out of the picture, Daniel Cormier thinks Francis Ngannou should reach back out to the UFC and re-sign with them. Although Cormier says Ngannou may get one big payday in boxing, he doesn’t think it is sustainable and the biggest fights for him are in the UFC.
“You sometimes have to just bite the bullet and go, ‘You know what, I’m going to go back to what’s familiar.’ Because you and I both agree there are some very dangerous fights for him in the boxing arena,” Cormier said. “So while you may cash in one time, it may not be sustainable, and he’s also 36 years old. So he doesn’t have much time. He hasn’t fought since last January. He’s 36 years old. Time is of the essence for Francis Ngannou so he needs to get busy.”
