Francis Ngannou Addresses Negative Comments from UFC

“Remember who the real king is.” – Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou is a Cameroonian-French professional mixed martial artist who seemingly was able to walk away from the UFC, as a sitting champion. He is known for his incredible power and athleticism and has quickly become one of the most feared fighters in the heavyweight division for mixed martial arts. Ngannou has been on a meteoric rise since his debut in 2015 and is now a free agent.

When the UFC announced his release, of course, it came with the stripping of his title. Now UFC fans have more reason to watch Ciryl Gane and Jon Jones face off at UFC 285 for the vacant UFC heavyweight title. When UFC President Dana White made the announcement, he made sure to mention the stripping of the title and to hint that Ngannou wanted “easier” fights and to take fewer risks. 

The thing that comes with free agency is freedom, especially from the UFC. Ngannou knows what was said about him, and made sure to address it in a recent video on his YouTube channel. Ngannou says claims of him wanting easier fights and being scared of facing Jones are simply not true.

“They have also said that I am scared of fighting Jon Jones, or somebody else. Bull-sh*t!,” Ngannou said of that opinion. “I don’t know where that came from and that sounds very ridiculous in my opinion with all due respect.  Because I’ve been calling for this fight for over two years.  I’ve been waiting for this fight forever and I’ve been fighting guys even with one knee, with injury. Why would I be scared of them when I am feeling well, more confident.  No, I’m not scared.  The only thing that I’m scared of is to be trapped.”

Ngannou reiterated points he made earlier in the week when on the MMA hour, about things he wanted in his contract, things for himself and other fighters. But when closing his video, he wanted to remind fight fans (not UFC fans) of one thing. 

“Remember they’re going to be saying a lot of things. They’re going to be trying to bash me, to devalue me but no matter what, you have to remember who the real king is. The best heavyweight in the world, I’m the best heavyweight in the world and I don’t care what they say out there. I’m the man.”

“The man,” is a free agent. Will we see him in some boxing super-bouts, or in another big MMA promotion?

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Edward Carbajal
Edward holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Bachelor's degree in Communications. Along with over 30 years of martial arts experience, he co-hosts The Coast-2-Coast Combat Hour podcast, and also writes for Spectation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @Carbazel