Francis Ngannou shares hard-hitting take on why fighters retire late

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has always championed a strong stance on fighters rights, and he recently shed light on the issue in an Instagram comment.

Ngannou's statement came in the wake of comments from former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre about fighter retirement. St-Pierre dismissed speculation of him being a part of the 2024 superfight being planned by Dana White:

“Absolutely not. I promise you. I always told myself that I would not fight in a cage after the age of 40. You know, I don’t say I would never compete in any combat sport but a fight in a cage professionally is a serious thing for my legacy, I will not do it. There is something that I care more about my legacy, my health. And I think it’s sad because a lot of athletes in combat sports, actually most of them retire too late. And I think it’s a shame a little bit because they tarnish not only their legacy, they tarnish their health.”

Check out his comments in the Instagram post below:

Ngannou singled out St-Pierre's comment about fighters retiring late and claimed that the major cause behind it is their lack of financial strength:

"It's true that a lot a fighters retired late but for the most part it's not because they want to but because they can't afford retirement after so many years of high competition 🤷🏾‍♂️"

Francis Ngannou's comment.

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Eddie Hearn predicts Francis Ngannou's rematch with Tyson Fury is agreed to take place after Fury vs. Usyk

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn recently discussed a fight between Francis Ngannou and his longtime client Anthony Joshua.

Hearn revealed that he was not given a response from Ngannou's team after reaching out to them to discuss a potential fight. He believes this confirms the possibility that a potential rematch against Tyson Fury has already been agreed after Fury's upcoming clash against Oleksandr Usyk.

He said on The MMA Hour:

"I reached out to Francis Ngannou’s team and I said, ‘Just to let you know, we’re up for discussing the Francis Ngannou [vs.] AJ fight.' I never heard back from them. So I think probably, knowing the business, I would say that probably Fury-Ngannou is almost probably agreed to post Fury-[Oleksandr] Usyk already." [h/t MMA Fighting]

Ngannou surprised the combat sports world with his boxing debut against Fury earlier this year and lost only by a close split decision. His performance has led many to believe a rematch is warranted.

Check out his comments below [17:32]: