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Israel Adesanya has extended his support to Francis Ngannou for not wanting to fight for $500k moving forward.
It has become public knowledge that Ngannou and the UFC are at odds with each other over the issue of remuneration. With his contract expiring after the highly anticipated UFC 270 matchup against Ciryl Gane, 'The Predator' has made it known that he will not compete in the UFC without a significant pay bump.
With Ngannou vs. Gane heading closer, 'The Predator' has received support from Israel Adesanya.
The UFC middleweight champion backed Ngannou in a recently uploaded YouTube video on his channel. Adesanya stated that 'The Predator' shouldn't be fighting for that amount of money because it "cheapens" what he's doing as the heavyweight champion.
Israel Adesanya said:
"This fight, honestly for me is bigger than the UFC title. This fight, because we all know now, it's public knowledge what's happening with Francis and the UFC and Francis coming out saying, 'I'm not fighting for $500k or $600k anymore.' He and myself have had conversations you know, about that kind of stuff and as the heavyweight champion of the world he shouldn't be fighting for that low, not at all. Should not be fighting for that low because that just cheapens what he's doing."
Watch Israel Adesanya's full YouTube video below:
Is Francis Ngannou's dispute with the UFC affecting his state of mind?
Heading into the fight with Ciryl Gane, Francis Ngannou has endured a lot of pressure from all sides. The Cameroonian has to defend his title for the first time against his former coach and former teammate. Moreover, Ngannou's situation with the UFC remains uncertain.
All of this is bound to take a toll on anyone mentally. According to former double champion Daniel Cormier, Ngannou's problems with the UFC might have affected his state of mind.
Cormier talked about the same on his MMA talkshow 'DC & RC' on YouTube, where he said:
"I got to be honest man, I've heard whispers that all the the the things that Francis Ngannou is dealing with, outside of the actual fight, maybe taking its toll a little bit mentally. I'm not sure but we will see."
Watch the full episode of 'DC & RC' below:
