05 April 2023 , 10:31
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BKFC chief David Feldman has suggested Francis Ngannou is demanding unrealistic money for a bare-knuckle boxing fight.
Ngannou departed the UFC at the start of the year, vacating his heavyweight title after failing to agree a new deal with the promotion. He is now pursuing a number of potential opportunities outside the UFC after becoming a free agent which includes lucrative boxing fights against the likes of Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.
'The Predator' has also received interest from bare-knuckle boxing promotion BKFC with the talks led by chief Feldman who is keen to add the Cameroon star to his roster. However it appears talks may have stalled, with Feldman suggesting he is not willing to go above budget to draw the heavyweight star to the squared circle.
“ Francis Ngannou, he’s somebody we’ve certainly reached out to,” Feldman said at the BKFC 41 press conference. “We’ve reached out to him, we’ve reached out to his team, and we just feel like he’s asking for unrealistic money, and we’re not willing to pay that kind of money for him. I do think he needs to make his mind up pretty soon. As the days go on, his value is starting to drop a little bit.”
Ngannou has already conceded he will first look to explore all possible opportunities in the boxing ring before returning to MMA where he is also in talks to sign with a number of UFC's rival promotions including PFL. One of the many reasons Ngannou decided to leave the UFC was due to his demand to negotiate boxing fights outside of his contract.
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The Cameroon star has been out of action for a long period after suffering injury in his successful title defence over Cyril Gane last year, but has been training ahead of any scheduled return date. A number of options have been presented to Ngannou including a fight with Anthony Joshua after he held a meeting with Eddie Hearn.
Francis Ngannou is currently a free agent after leaving the UFCWould you like to see Francis Ngannou fight in the BKFC? Let us know in the comments section below
However the 36-year-old has himself stated that a two-fight deal with Wilder appears to be the offer currently in pole position to be accepted. He told ESPN : “My next step has to be boxing. I want to do one boxing match first, and then maybe go back to MMA because I still enjoy MMA. I want to do a couple of fights in boxing.
“We are working on some stuff and hopefully in a month or two, I will be able to come out with an announcement on potential fight dates and locations. “It’s taking a little longer than I expected but it’s coming along. Big things come with time. I talked to Eddie Hearn about Anthony Joshua, I don’t know what’s going to happen.
“The most that we have spoken with is Deontay Wilder‘s team. We’ve been having some exchanges, basically coming to some sort of verbal agreement. But I am considering everybody [as an opponent]."