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“I Can Confirm That We Are…” – Francis Ngannou Joining ONE Championship? The Promotional Frontman Chatri Sityodtong Answers

Published 04/22/2023, 8:38 AM EDT

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The MMA world is buzzing with speculation about the future of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Following his controversial departure from the Dana White-led promotion, the 36-year-old has been inundated with offers from across the combat sports realm. The latest offer comes from none other than boxing legend Floyd Mayweather. While boxing is a long-time passion for the Cameroonian fighter, it seems unlikely he will switch sports altogether, as MMA is where he truly shines and what fans want to see more of.

Since leaving the UFC, Ngannou has received numerous competitive offers from various promotions, but the one that comes closest to potentially signing him is ONE Championship, as per the latest reports. The promotion’s frontman Chatri Siyodtang recently offered an intriguing update on the progress of negotiations with ‘The Predator’.

Chatri Siyodtang reveals where ONE Championship-Francis Ngannou deal stands

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Chatri Siyodtang recently sat down for an interview with Chael Sonnen, where he provided an update on the negotiations to sign Francis Ngannou. “I like Francis, you know? He’s a good guy,” said Siyodtang during the interview.

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He added, “But I genuinely don’t know where he’s gonna end-up. I can confirm that we are in discussions. But all I meant to say was, from my understanding- and I know that we’re also at the very tail end of our process with him.”

The 52-year-old further stated that they are yet to put forth one final offer to Ngannou. “He has a bunch of offers. Let’s see what happens… We haven’t submitted our final offer yet. So, that’s where we’re at. We’ve been in discussions for the last few months.”

With a final offer up its sleeve, ONE Championship could potentially end up being the promotion where the world gets to see ‘The Predator’ back in action. But what does Ngannou’s journey within there look like, and will he have to start from scratch? Siyodtang has the answers.

Will ‘The Predator’ get a direct title shot at ONE Championship?

As one of the biggest names in combat sports, it’s clear that Francis Ngannou won’t settle for anything less than the best. At the end of the interview, Sonnen asked the ONE Championship CEO whether the Cameroonian fighter gets a title shot if he joins the promotion, to which he answered, “Yeah, possibly. Possibly.” However, he also pointed out the other challenges that ‘The Predator’ would face in the promotion.

via Getty

 

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Siyodtang named a few of the competing heavyweights, such as Anatoly Malykhin and Arjun Bhullar, who are dangerous fighters. He stated, “We have a very, very stacked heavyweight division. And if Francis does join, he’s gonna have his hands full, no matter what.”

It seems that the talks between Ngannou and ONE Championship are at the final stage, at least from the company’s side. It will be interesting to see how Ngannou fares in the promotion and how he adjusts to the challenges of fighting in a new organization.

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If things work out, who do you want to see Francis Ngannou fight in ONE Championship? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Mayur Soni

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Mayur Soni is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. His journey as an MMA fan started with Conor McGregor’s historic 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo in 2015, which sparked his love for the sport. Since then, he has closely followed the sport and gained an in-depth understanding of its nuances, which reflects in his insightful and analytical writing.
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Edited by:

Anuj Jacob