Israel Adesanya criticized the UFC’s decision to try to remove Francis Ngannou from their history.
Ngannou is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion who left the organization last year on bad terms. Contract talks broke down as Francis was vocal about how his right as an independent contractor would have been removed. He reportedly turned down an $8 million offer, which could have led to the Jon Jones fight. Dana White said the UFC would never work with him again, as he ruled out a cross-promotion with the UFC to make the Ngannou fight.
Adesanya Reacts
It appears the UFC is intent on removing any trace of him. The following clip shows Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis trading verbals ahead of their upcoming UFC 305 fight on August 17. Izzy called out Du Plessis’ prior comments where he said he would be the first African to bring the belts back. Those comments were seen as a dig at Izzy, Ngannou and Kamaru Usman, who have all won world titles. However, the UFC’s promo video edited out the reference to Ngannou, much to Izzy’s annoyance.
“You can’t erase Francis’ legacy in the UFC. It’s part of what we’ve done. It’s forever in history, in stone. So trying to whitewash it or just not talk about it is silly. I know he’s fighting for the PFL right now, but it’s still history. You can’t just turn a blind eye to it. I’m sure they’ll fix it eventually. This is how business goes with the UFC.
“He’s an [integral] part of what we’ve done in the UFC. Right now, I know there’s competition between other promotions and the UFC and battles, but you can never erase history. The streets, the internet will always remember. I think they’ll fix this eventually, but it’s just a lot of chest puffing. The UFC are smart people. They’ll understand and they’ll rectify this eventually,” Adesanya said
The UFC will naturally argue that the PFL is its competitor. Ngannou is on course to make his PFL debut on October 19 against Renan Ferreira. They will want to avoid any unnecessary publicity on the fight since Ngannou has not had an MMA fight since beating Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 last year. A solid performance by Ngannou will increase the calls on the UFC to make the Jon Jones fight.
Adesanya On Ngannou
There is also the added worry that other fighters could cross over to the PFL if Ngannou manages to make it a success. He has already earned more money than his entire UFC career, as his PFL deal allowed him to box. Adesanya was clear that he would continue to support his fellow man.
“I’m happy for him. I’m happy for what he’s doing. He just went through something that I would never wish on anyone. We’ve talked. I’ve checked up on him. Again, I respect Francis so much,” Adesanya stated
Adesanya’s main focus will be on getting past Du Plessis. He has the chance to secure his middleweight title, which he lost against Sean Strickland. But this time in October, he and Ngannou could become world champions again.
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