Francis Ngannou, the UFC heavyweight champion, has been stripped of his title and released from his contract after declining a new contract offer.
Dana White, the head of the association, expressed his disappointment that Ngannou turned down an offer that would have made him the highest-paid heavyweight of all time.
“We offered Ngannou a deal that would make him the highest-paid heavyweight of all time,” said White during the media announcement of the UFC Vegas 67 title fight between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane scheduled for March 4.
‘He turned it down. We’re gonna release him from his contract. He can go and do whatever he wants.”
The 36-year-old Cameroonian-French fighter had been in a tussle to negotiate contract terms since 2021 as promotions were billing him to fight Jones for the heavyweight title.
As the biggest free agent in MMA, Ngannou has been speculated to lean towards the Professional Fighters League after being reportedly wooed by the brand.
Ngannou has a mixed martial arts record of 17 wins, and 3 losses with 12 of those victories coming by knockouts.