Francis Ngannou blames UFC for the decline of the heavyweight division: ‘Lot of mismanagement’

Francis Ngannou thinks MMA’s leading promotion is accountable for the present state of the heavyweight division.

Legends like Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, and Fabricio Werdum once competed and reigned as champions within the division.

But those days are long gone. In 2026, the UFC heavyweight roster is essentially made up of low-skilled fighters who often have three-round slogs that no person is more likely to enjoy watching.

Former champion Ngannou has watched the division’s demise from outside the promotion, and he thinks his former employer is accountable.

With a badly injured champion and a lackluster roster, is the heavyweight division the worst within the UFC right away?

If not, tell us which weight class you’re thinking that is in an excellent worse state.

Francis Ngannou diagnoses the bad shape of the UFC heavyweight division in 2026

Various statistics show the heavyweight downfall lately. MMA stat man Ovin Vithanage posted some in February, revealing that there are zero former undisputed champions, just six fighters on winning streaks, and 15 with losing records on the roster.

Stats like those have translated into lackluster showings contained in the octagon, with terrible fights like Tallison Teixeira’s win over Tai Tuivasa even followed by calls to abolish the load class from fans.

Ngannou is one heavyweight who has rarely had boring fights in MMA, and the previous champ recently diagnosed the division’s issues during an interview with The Schmo.

“Well, I believe there may be loads of, I might say, mismanagement,” Ngannou said. “There may be loads of mismanagement that sometimes gets stuff screwed up.

“That’s where we’re today. You see even now, there are loads of heavyweights on the market like Tom Aspinall, he’s having trouble with this.

“I believe there may be mismanagement,” he continued. “After I say mismanagement… I (am) talking concerning the promotion. I believe there’s something like that on the market, which isn’t right.”

‘The Predator’ will soon be making his first appearance within the cage since October 2024. Ngannou is ready to fight Philipe Lins in his comeback on the very first Netflix event on May 16.

The Cameroonian powerhouse is unbeaten in MMA since a loss to Derrick Lewis eight years ago. He has brutally knocked out the likes of Stipe Miocic, Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez, and Junior dos Santos to cement himself as an all-time great.