When the UFC crowd was eagerly waiting for the bout between two of its greatest fighters, Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones, Ngannou announced that he was going to be a free agent. His decision shook up the entire UFC, as many expected he would stay in the world’s biggest MMA promotion. However, when the UFC was not able to agree to Ngannou’s demands, ‘The Predator’ decided to leave the promotion. His demands included more money, permission to make contracts outside the UFC, clarity on his contracts with UFC, insurance for fighters, and so on. The promotion was not ready to give in to all his wants. This ended up with the 36-year-old becoming a free agent.

At the moment, a former UFC middleweight champion calls Ngannou a “real man” for not bending his knee in support of the promotion. Luke Rockhold announced his retirement from the UFC in August 2022, and there were a number of reasons that forced him to take the decision. Similar to ‘The Predator,’ the 38-year-old was also against the practices of the UFC that limit the freedom of fighters.

Luke Rockhold supports Francis Ngannou for going against UFC

During a recent conversation, Rockhold detailed why he thinks Ngannou has made the right choice by going against the promotion. He said to MMA Fighting, “I’m f*** stoked for Francis. Francis, he’s a real man with f** balls and he can make a decision. There’s too many yes men in the world. The UFC is where it is today because all those motherf*** are yes men, and they’re just playing their game so the UFC is going to keep playing their game and keep controlling the fighters.”

Talking on the same topic he further added of more fighters like him and Ngannou were in the UFC, the promotion would be forced to have an even playing field for all. From the words of the Californian fighter, it is clear that he left the UFC because, similar to Ngannou, he too was not able to agree with the way the UFC President, Dana White, treated its fighters.

Rockhold and Ngannou are all set to take the next step

After leaving the UFC, Rockhold decided to try his hands at the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, and his debut fight in the new promotion will take place on Saturday at BKFC 41.

READ MORE: “He Will Not Survive in a Boxing Ring” – Former Champion Issues a Stern Warning to Free Agent Francis Ngannou’s Boxing Aspirations

Rockhold will lock horns against Mike Perry. The former Strikeforce champion also mentioned how the UFC failed to provide him with anything new that could excite him and make Rockhold stay in the promotion. On the other hand, Ngannou is in talks with ONE Championship.

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