Did Ngannou Make A Mistake In Leaving The UFC?

Francis Ngannou left the UFC in 2023, but did he make the right decision? 

Ngannou left as the UFC Heavyweight Champion after having beaten Stipe Miocic in his last fight. He had been chasing the Jon Jones fight, only for contract talks to break down. Dana White was clear he would never work with Ngannou again, while he also ruled out doing any co-promotion with the PFL. Ngannou later joined the PFL, beating Renan Fereira to become the heavyweight champion.

He also had two boxing fights, losing to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. While that may be the case, those two fights reportedly earned him $30 million. That was more than his entire UFC career earnings. However, Ngannou’s coach, Eric Nicksick, recently suggested Ngannou would be open to a UFC return.

There are no big PFL fights out there for him, while a boxing bout is not forthcoming despite links to Deontay Wilder. Fans have been demanding a Ngannou fight with Tom Aspinall. This is after the latter has failed to secure the Jon Jones fight amid rumours of a link with Ciryl Gane. Matt Brown, the former UFC fighter, has now had his say. He has suggested that Ngannou may have made a mistake in leaving the UFC. 

Ngannou’s Legacy

“Legacy wise, he’s already forgotten in terms of the heavyweight division in MMA. Legacy wise, I think it damaged his legacy tremendously. Had he won those boxing matches, that would have obviously helped his legacy a [expletive] ton. For instance, after he fought Tyson Fury the first time, and a lot of us believe that he won, it was pretty close, debatable but I would argue he probably won.

“I don’t think anybody was arguing that it was a bad move at that point. It was after he lost and now the UFC is like whatever bro, do your thing. Now everybody is asking if it was a mistake. But he made more money in those two matches that he would have made fighting in the UFC for the next 10 years. Was it a mistake on that part? No, but his legacy is going to suffer. He’s not going to be in the talks for the best heavyweight ever, period,” Matt Brown said