NFL draft Experts share final predictions for Eagles with 23rd pick
Experts Share Predictions for Eagles' 23rd Pick in 2026 NFL Draft
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 15: Francis N'gannou attends Rousey vs. Carano NYC Press Conference at The Palladium on April 15, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Netflix) | Getty Images for Netflix
Francis Ngannou is set to return to fight in America for the first time since 2022 on MVP MMAâs Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card on May 16th. For the past four years, the former UFC heavyweight champion has been plying his trade is Saudi Arabia, making big money and big waves but not maybe as big of a splash with casual fans as he would have if heâd stayed with UFC.
Staying was something Ngannou easily could have done if he wasnât so stubborn regarding the restrictive contract UFC makes all its fighters sign. After being stuck in that contract for five years and facing some pretty poor treatment from management, Ngannou left the promotion for free agency. Many accused him of fumbling the bag ⊠until he made over $30 million in a twelve month period.
In a new interview with ESPN, Ngannou urged other fighters to stand strong and get out of their UFC contracts, and not just because it means heâd have someone more compelling to fight than Philipe Lins on May 16th.
âThis fight, this could have been an opportunity for so many people,â Ngannou told Brett Okamoto. âBut they are all locked somewhere in contracts they are not very happy about it, that are not helping them. But they donât have the balls to stand on their own and claim that freedom.â
âWe all talk about free agency, but itâs something that also demands you to be strong. Youâre going to be out there on your own without having any idea about your future, not knowing if youâre going to fight, have a short notice in 10 days, or if youâre going to fight and go a year without fighting. You donât know. [You] just have to be ready. Get yourself prepared for the opportunity.â
âThatâs what happened to a lot of fighters. They are just so scared of being free, being without promotion, without a promoter, or something that they can do. They will sign up for everything just to be in the promotion, and then the day that the opportunity, the real opportunity, comes around, they are not there.â
Itâs easy in hindsight to say Ngannou made the right choice, but at the time his decision seemed crazy. And if it wasnât for Saudi boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh turning the sport on its head and taking a liking to Ngannou, we might be saying some very different things right now. There are growing options, though, one of them being Jake Paulâs MVP fight promotion moving into MMA.
âI hope that they stay around for the long term and also the way that they are doing it,â Ngannou said of MVP. âIt would also be great to see another platform, to see something that can provide opportunity to other fighters, because I think also one of the reason that some fighters get themselves locked in contracts is because they are afraid of the outside. They are afraid of the unknown. They donât know what is out there. They are not seeing any possibility, so it freaked them out, you know?â
âThey rather get something that they are safe with, even if itâs not enough,â he said. âThen at least theyâre like, âOkay, this is better than nothing,â you know? But if they have a hope that they can have something out there, maybe some people will claim their right even more, will claim their freedom, and then will refuse a condition that is not favorable or fair for them.â
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