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Heading into Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane, the former's future with the UFC has been a talking point. The reason stems from the fact that his upcoming bout with 'Bon Gamin' is the last fight on the Cameroonian's current UFC contract.
However, his current contract has a championship clause. This means that if 'The Predator' wins the upcoming bout vs. Gane, his contract will be extended by one year or three fights depending upon which option Ngannou chooses.
It is worth noting that heading into UFC 270, Francis Ngannou has made it known that he is not interested in renewing his UFC contract unless he receives a hike in pay. During an interview with ESPN MMA, 'The Predator' said:
“No. I will not fight for five, six hundred thousand anymore. I mean, it’s over. It’s over. I just did this. I took this [UFC 270] fight just for a personal reason and because I want to make sure that [I complete my current deal] regardless, even if it’s unfair. I’ve been wrongly treated.”
Watch Francis Ngannou’s interview with ESPN MMA below:
The Cameroonian signed his current UFC contract in December 2017 for five years which runs through December 2022. Whether or not the 35-year-old stays with the UFC after his fight with Gane on January 22nd is yet to be seen.
Israel Adesanya backs Francis Ngannou for wanting increase in pay
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has backed Ngannou for not wanting to fight for $500-$600K anymore. In a recently uploaded YouTube video on his channel, 'The Last Stylebender' talked about the Cameroonian's current situation with the UFC.
As per Adesanya, Ngannou's matchup against Gane is much more than just a title fight. He further asserted that 'The Predator' shouldn't be fighting for that level of pay:
"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:
