Francis Ngannou (image via UFC/YouTube)

By FCF Staff

The expectation is that we’ll see Francis Ngannou back in the Octagon before the year is out. But, it seems clear that the UFC’s heavyweight champ still isn’t on the best of terms with the promotion.

Following Ngannou’s knockout of now-former champ, Stipe Miocic in March, the UFC pushed for a fight with Derrick Lewis this summer. When Ngannou reportedly informed the company he wanted to take some time off, the UFC announced Lewis was going to fight Ciryl Gane for an interim belt on August 7th.

Ngannou publicly criticized the decision and in a recent interview with GQ, the rising star said this.

Ugh! I think it was all business, and the UFC wanted to do a pay-per-view in Houston. It wasn’t the right timing for me, but they wanted to do it no matter what. Just before that, they were asking me if I was ready to fight in September and I told them I’d be more than ready. Then, suddenly, we just saw they had an interim title…I don’t know what truly happened. It’s all from the UFC’s end. They will be the only ones who know what happened.

When the interviewer argued it seems like the UFC was trying to devalue Ngannou as the champ, the fighter agreed.

Absolutely! That’s how I feel. There’s one thing: if you say you understand the UFC, and how they do business, that means you don’t understand shit [laughs]. It’s just like that: it can be very spontaneous, premature, and decisions are out of nowhere. They just pop up like that: boom! But at the end of the day, things will get done. It’s just a matter of time.

When the Lewis – Gane title fight was announced, UFC President Dana White defended the booking, and noted Ngannou was free to fight again when he wanted. But, later in the interview, Ngannou also said he feels disrespected by the UFC.

Yes. I have that feeling. Just recently they gave me the UFC heavyweight champion, and months later they’re talking about someone else being the champion. Sometimes I’m not even sure if I’m really the champ or not. It’s really confusing.

The 34-year-old also reported that he wasn’t happy with the UFC’s last contract offer.

Well—[*sighs]—*a lot is going on. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, [but] people don’t see it and they have their own opinion. Before my last fight, the UFC wanted me to sign some contract and that contract wasn’t right. I didn’t sign that contract and I feel like they weren’t happy about that. I signed a contract before, and it didn’t play out very well on my end. So, in order to sign another contract I think it’s my right to at least look out for myself and get what is right for me to fix whatever was the mistake in the previous one. And if someone doesn’t believe they should fix their mistake then that means that person is not looking for anything good for you.

Ngannou (16-3) is expected to fight Gane (10-0) before 2021 comes to an end.