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Francis Ngannou Defies Dana White & UFC Top Brass Over Kamaru Usman’s Request – “I Have a Right”

Published 03/08/2024, 2:41 PM EST

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Francis Ngannou is all set to feature in his second professional fight in boxing on March 8 against Anthony Joshua. The former UFC heavyweight champion surprised everyone with his performance against heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Although the judges scored the fight in favor of Fury, the fans felt a bit different.

‘The Predator’ has moved on from the result and is focused on his next opponent, ‘AJ.’ The 37-year-old recently appeared on the Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo podcast. During the podcast, he revealed his future plans with the UFC. Let us find out what the former champion had to say.

Ngannou promises to return to the UFC in his latest interview

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Before his move to boxing, Francis Ngannou was one of the biggest names in the UFC. He not only won the heavyweight title but also dominated the division with his unusual power. However, things turned sour between him and the UFC CEO, Dana White, forcing him to leave the UFC. The 37-year-old recently revealed his plans for returning to the UFC but not as a fighter. During the conversation, Usman showed his willingness to set up a fight between his long-time friend Ngannou and Jon Jones, to which Francis Ngannou replied, “Well no need to repair for that.”

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Usman then invited ‘The Predator’ to witness one of his next fights in the UFC and hoped he would get a positive response. The 37-year-old then replied, ” I think as everyone, I have a right to attend to your fight and nobody should stop that. And as a fact, I’m going to attend to your fight. Well, don’t worry about that.”

While Francis Ngannou is preparing for his fight against Anthony Joshua, the UFC fans are still waiting to see him in action inside the Octagon. Although his next fight holds a lot of importance in his boxing career, there’s one fight that the fans desperately want to witness when he takes on Jon Jones. The pair recently met at an event and entered into a friendly banter. Let us find out how the fighters greeted each other.

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Francis Ngannou gives training tips to Jon Jones in a recent event

The fight between Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones might just end up being the biggest ‘what if’ in MMA history. Both ‘Bones’ and ‘The Predator’ have shown their willingness to fight each other on numerous occasions. Jones even planned on moving to the heavyweight division to claim the heavyweight title. However, the fight never happened as Francis Ngannou parted ways with the UFC because of contract negotiations. Jones then took the opportunity to win the title at UFC 285 after he defeated Ciryl Gane via submission in the first round. It now seems that the pair still has a bit of tension left between them. 

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Both Jones and Francis Ngannou arrived at the PFL vs Bellator: Champions vs. Champions event in Saudi Arabia on the 24th of February. Given that two of the best heavyweights in the world were in attendance, a face-off was bound to happen and it did happen. After the fight was over Ngannou, walked over to the place where ‘Bones’ was standing. ‘The Predator’ went on and shook the hand of the heavyweight champion. He then shifted his focus to the belly of Jones and commented, “You need to get back to training.” Jones enjoyed the entire conversation and laughed it off without giving any aggressive response. Will we ever see two of the best heavyweight fighters take on each other inside the Octagon? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Anirban Chatterjee

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Anirban Chatterjee is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. Anirban holds an MBA in Sports Management and is an athlete himself. After stints in notable organizations as a professional writer, Anirban pivoted to covering UFC, ONE Championship, and other premiere MMA promoters.
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Edited by:

Ankit Singh