Francis Ngannou’s journey from Cameroon to MMA stardom reads like a Hollywood script. He has faced countless challenges and triumphed against the odds. But now, he’s catching flak from an unexpected source: fellow heavyweight Tom Aspinall, and he’s not pulling any punches here. The UFC interim heavyweight champion is calling out ‘The Predator’ for allegedly ducking the cream of the crop.
Ngannou has been making waves in the boxing world lately as he went toe-to-toe with Tyson Fury and even knocked him down! He is now set to face Renan Ferreira in PFL. But Aspinall is not impressed. According to the British brawler, the real elite heavyweights are all hanging out in the UFC.
“I have a lot of respect for Francis, and I really appreciate his story. I really appreciate what he’s done in the sport, but it’s hard to debate right now. The guy he’s fighting, he’s not elite. And the guys he’ll be fighting in the future aren’t elite and it’s as simple as that… The elite guys are not in the PFL. The elite guys are in the UFC,” said Aspinall via The Ariel Helwani Show.
Tom Aspinall is not just talking trash for the sake of it. He has got some valid points. Ferreira, Francis Ngannou’s next opponent, isn’t exactly a household name. In fact, Aspinall claims one of his training buddies stopped Ferreira in under a minute.
Fans are now conflicted about whether Francis Ngannou is truly avoiding tough competition. Or is he just playing the game smart? After all, he is not getting any younger. Maybe he is looking for big paydays rather than brutal beatdowns.
Francis Ngannou Calls Out Dana White For Lying About His Pay
The heavyweight powerhouse recently fired back at Dana White’s claims about his earnings. The UFC CEO had suggested Ngannou would’ve made more money staying with the UFC. But ‘The Predator’ wasn’t buying it, and he called White’s bluff, branding him a liar.
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Francis Ngannou’s decision to leave the UFC raised eyebrows across the sport. He walked away from the heavyweight title and a chance at UFC immortality. The Cameroonian crusher claimed the UFC’s offer was “just a trap.”
“Unless he was the one writing me the cheque I don’t see how he can know that but me as the inside one who was receiving the money after leaving the UFC. And from what the UFC was proposing, it was just a trap, it wasn’t a solid contract as well, so that’s a lie,” Ngannou said while talking to ShakMMA.
Francis Ngannou has reportedly pocketed $25 million from his two boxing ventures. This is more than he earned in his entire MMA career. His decision to walk away from the UFC and join the PFL definitely has helped him monetarily. However, whether the PFL competition will allow him to be immortalized in the MMA heavyweight books remains to be seen.
