Michael Bisping encourages Francis Ngannou to reconcile with UFC
Add Michael Bisping’s name to the growing list of current and former UFC fighters who believe former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou made a mistake by leaving the company.
Bisping recently took to his YouTube page to offer some advice to the 36-year-old free agent, who is reportedly seeking an exorbitantly high salary to sign with another mixed martial arts promotion.
“I honestly believe that the best bet for Francis Ngannou is to go back to the UFC,” Bisping said. “[UFC president] Dana [White] said he’ll never have him back. Now, I’m not going speak for Dana White or the UFC, but who knows, maybe cooler heads can prevail and maybe they can compromise a little bit and we might see Francis back in the UFC. I truly believe that’s his best fit.”
Bisping is just the latest fighter to voice his opinion on Ngannou’s situation. Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo recently said that Ngannou “shot himself in the foot” by walking away from the contract the UFC presented him — one that most other heavyweights would have salivated over.
Former middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen also questioned Ngannou’s drawing power outside of the UFC in terms of selling pay per views, suggesting it might we wise to call White back and patch things up.
Outside of the UFC, Ngannou’s options are somewhat limited. The 6-foot-11 Cameroonian reportedly has his sights set on a bout with heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury, although nothing appears imminent on that front.
Ngannou said on his YouTube channel that if he joined another MMA promotion his choices were narrowed down to three: the Professional Fighters League, Bellator and ONE Championship. Bellator president Scott Coker disclosed the promotion is 50/50 on signing Ngannou, while PFL president Ray Sefo recently said he’s had “positive” ongoing talks with Ngannou.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship president David Feldman revealed earlier this week that although he spoke with Ngannou, the free-agent fighter was “asking for unrealistic money” and BKFC is “not willing to pay that kind of money for him.”
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