ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong believes Francis Ngannou might have a home shortly.
‘The Predator’ has been a free agent since January, when he left the UFC. In the process, Ngannou vacated his heavyweight title, with the promotion later booking Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane for the vacant championship. ‘Bones’ later submitted ‘Bon Gamin’ in round one to earn the title.
The UFC is reportedly already working on the newly crowned champion’s defense, as Jones called out Stipe Miocic following the win. However, while the promotion has since returned to business as normal, that’s not the case for Ngannou. Instead, the former champion has been very quiet. Ngannou previously teased a two-fight deal with Deontay Wilder in Africa, but it hasn’t come to fruition.
However, Francis Ngannou might not be without a home for long. On The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, ONE Championship’s Chatri Sityodtong discussed possibly signing the former UFC champion. There, the promoter revealed that he has a meeting with Ngannou on Saturday.
Furthermore, he believes that he can offer Ngannou the largest bid thus far. ‘The Predator’ has previously stated that he’s most likely to sign with PFL or ONE Championship, lending credence to Sityodtong’s comments.
(via Cooper Neil/Zuffa LLC)
ONE’s Chatri Sityodtong discusses signing Francis Ngannou
“Francis, we’ve been in discussions, I like Francis,” Chatri Sityodtong stated on The MMA Hour. “I think he brings a lot to the table… He has a bunch of offers on the table. He’s waiting for our final offer, we’ve given him, well my team did it, but I’m going to meet Francis this Saturday in [Los Angeles]. For sure, ONE can give him the largest offer on the table out of all those bids.”
He continued, “It has to work for him, it has to work for us. I just believe that when meeting somebody, you get the energy… I think there’s going to be big news on Francis shortly, he’s taking his time.”
What do you make of these comments? Do you want to see Francis Ngannou in ONE Championship? Sound off in the comment section below PENN Nation!
