Francis Ngannou left the UFC earlier this year, after a failed contract negotiation. While Ngannou’s list of demands included personal sponsorship, health insurance and provisions for everyone, the key difference was in the length of contract. Ngannou had his heart set on a limited time contract.
This is something UFC famously doesn’t do .They tend to lock top tier talent into 5 year deals that auto extend sometimes in perpetuity.
Famous boxing promoter Eddie Hearn gave his opinion on Francis Ngannou’s boxing career.
Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn had an interview with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.
Helwani found a way to include former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou into the discussion. Helwani said Ngannou could very much defeat Joshua.
“Francis Ngannou can beat this guy. This isn’t the craziest thought.” Helwani said.
However, Hearn laughed and simply disagreed. He believes Ngannous vs Joshua is a great match up, but he is also heavily doubting Ngannou’s capability in the squared circle. He even said that Ngannou will not be able to defeat any top 20 heavyweight boxer.
“You can not in a million years, with Francis Ngannou’s ability in boxing and pedigree in boxing, go in and compete technically [or] skill-wise. Not just with AJ, but with any top-twenty heavyweight in the world, but in that division, what the difference is, what you can do is you can knock someone out. ”
“Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte, Derek Chisora, Jermaine Franklin. He has no chance against those guys other than to be aggressive, trade up, and catch someone clean and take the out. I think you’re right in your statement that people would give Francis a much better chance against AJ having watched that performance in your world.”