Francis
Ngannou believes promotions are to blame for the downfall of
heavyweight MMA in recent times.
While the heavyweight division once used to be the crown jewel of
MMA promotions, that is no longer the case. With barely any
competition left at the highest level, the UFC is widely considered
the biggest promotion. Even the
UFC has been unable to get things working smoothly for its
heavyweight division.
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Ngannou (18-3) believes “mismanagement” has led to the current
plight of the heavyweight division. Ngannou clarifies that he is
not blaming the managers of fighters, but rather the promotions.
The former UFC heavyweight champion notes that current heavyweight
champion Tom
Aspinall is not on the best terms with the UFC.
“I would say mismanagement,” Ngannou told The Schmo. “There is a lot of mismanagement that
sometimes gets stuff screwed up. That’s where we’re at today… Like
Tom
Aspinall is having troubles… When I said mismanagement, I
wasn’t talking about manager. I was talking mostly about the
promotion.”
Tough Times at Heavyweight
The UFC heavyweight division hasn’t been what it used to be for
quite a while now. However, the current decline probably started
with Ngannou’s rift with the UFC. After winning the UFC heavyweight
title against Stipe
Miocic in 2021, Ngannou kept waiting for a fight against
Jon
Jones, which never came to fruition. Ngannou eventually
defended his title against Ciryl Gane
before getting into a lengthy contract dispute with the UFC over
various demands, like health insurance for fighters, permission to
compete in crossover boxing, etc. Ngannou eventually parted ways
with the UFC in 2023 and signed with the
Professional Fighters League. The PFL contract allowed Ngannou
to compete in boxing, and he made the most of it by fighting
Anthony
Joshua and Tyson Fury,
albeit coming up short on both occasions. However, Ngannou competed
only once in the PFL, dethroning heavyweight champion Renan
Ferreira in 2024. Ngannou recently parted ways with the PFL and
signed with Jake Paul’s
Most Valuable Promotions, where he is scheduled to compete
against fellow UFC alum Philipe
Lins on May 16.
Meanwhile, Jones won the vacant UFC title against Gane after
Ngannou departed from the UFC. Jones stalled the division for more
than a year while defending his title against Miocic. Jones kept
avoiding the interim champion, Tom
Aspinall, allegedly over money, before retiring last year.
After getting promoted to undisputed champ, Aspinall put his title
on the line against Ciryl Gane
at UFC 321
this past October. However, the fight ended in an anticlimactic
no-contest after Aspinall was left unable to continue due to a
double eye-poke by Gane in the first round. Dana White was
seemingly disappointed with Aspinall’s decision not to continue and
hinted at the same publicly. Aspinall also lashed out at White for
downplaying his injury. Gane is now scheduled to fight Alex
Pereira for the interim heavyweight title at the White House on
June 14.