Francis Ngannou demands respect from the UFC

UFC heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou is fed up with the UFC, who he says continue to ignore his calls for a next date and opponent.

Speaking to TMZ, “The Predator” said he has been waiting since the summer for the UFC to call him and he’s still waiting. Francis Ngannou says he’s getting fed up, and he’s upset his family won’t be having as good of a Christmas if he doesn’t get paid to fight.

“I just want to say to the UFC to pay me some respect and give me a damn fight. That’s what I’m asking for,” Francis Ngannou said. “I expected to have a fight by December to make money for Christmas and New Year’s for my family. Hey man, I need a fight. I need to make money.”

Francis Ngannou admits the UFC did call him to fight Alexander Volkov on short notice, but he turned down the opportunity and it went to Greg Hardy instead. Francis Ngannou, who is the No. 2 ranked heavyweight behind champion Stipe Miocic and No. 1 contender Daniel Cormier, wants a full training camp and doesn’t want to take a risky short-notice fight.

“The UFC two days ago called my manager and asked if I want to fight. Of course, I want to fight. ‘When?’ ‘In Moscow, in 18 days.’ ‘Really. Like, for what purpose? What’s the goal for this fight? Because it’s a step down for him. What is the goal? Are we talking about a tittle shot guarantee, or a contract renegotiation? About what?’ Now, we are not talking about that fight. We think about it and thought, was is the purpose to risk, to go to the fight without a training camp because it’s just 18 days? And this fight (Volkov vs. Junior dos Santos) was announced two months ago,” Ngannou said.

“We prefer to book Alexander Volkov and I in Las Vegas (at UFC 245), that’s like seven or eight weeks, that makes more sense. Then I would have a good training camp, a proper training camp for the fight.”

Who should the UFC book Francis Ngannou against next?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/23/2019.