Chael Sonnen casts doubt on Francis Ngannou’s ability to become a free agent: “There for sure is a non-negotiation clause”

By Susan Cox - April 27, 2022

Chael Sonnen is weighing in on Francis Ngannou’s contract with the UFC and his subsequent ability to become a free agent.

Chael Sonnen, UFC, heavyweight division

Ngannou, (17-3 MMA), the current UFC Heavyweight Champion, has had an ongoing contract dispute with Dana White & Co.

‘The Predator’ last fought back in January of this year at UFC 270, where he defeated Ciryl Gane (10-1 MMA) via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) in the main event.

Ngannou has expressed his interest multiple times in to stepping out of the Octagon and into the boxing ring with Tyson Fury.

Tyson Fury, Francis Ngannou, Boxing, UFC

Chael Sonnen, in speaking about his own experience, had this to say on his YouTube channel about Ngannou’s chances of getting out of his UFC contract:

“The media has led you guys to believe that at the end of this year, Francis (Ngannou) is free to go. That’s not the contract I had. It could have gone that way if I had people at the UFC who wanted to help me, but it could have not if I had people that didn’t.” Sonnen explained. “I can also tell you that the language of the contract I once had, that I believe and I’m assuming Francis also has… There for sure is a non-negotiation clause. For sure, not even a maybe and going into the ring premeditated for a face-off, which is exactly what this was, with the tease and/or promise of promoting a future something combat-related, that would break all to hell. Shatter it into pieces, if anybody wanted to challenge it.”

Most recently Ngannou has stated that he wants to stay with the UFC on the condition that they let him fight Tyson Fury in a boxing match. The fighter believes the UFC could be a part of a ‘superfight’ that would be beneficial to all sides.

In a recent appearance on ‘The MMA Hour’, Ngannou had this to say about such a boxing match:

“Yeah, because I believe that they can make it – Doesn’t matter how big it could be, the UFC can make it bigger.”

Would you like to see Ngannou vs Fury? Do you agree with Chael Sonnen that the UFC is standing in the way by implementing a non-negotiation clause that is surely in the champions contract?


Topics:

Chael Sonnen Francis Ngannou UFC