{"id":323467,"date":"2026-04-23T20:10:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=323467"},"modified":"2026-04-23T20:10:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:40:39","slug":"francis-ngannou-claims-most-fighters-usually-are-not-brave-enough-to-assert-freedom-from-the-ufc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/23\/francis-ngannou-claims-most-fighters-usually-are-not-brave-enough-to-assert-freedom-from-the-ufc\/","title":{"rendered":"Francis Ngannou claims most fighters usually are not brave enough to assert freedom from the UFC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"post-305471\">\n<div class=\"article-follow\">\n<div class=\"article-sharing google-follow\"> <a class=\"fw\" href=\"https:\/\/profile.google.com\/cp\/Cg0vZy8xMWs2azRtMzFf%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">  <span>Follow us on Google Discover<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Francis Ngannou knows he&#8217;s within the minority in relation to the profession path he has chosen since 2023.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ngannou left the UFC firstly of that 12 months following a lengthy contractual dispute. He has since fought once within the PFL and fulfilled his ambitions to cross over to boxing.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Next, \u2018The Predator\u2019 will make his first appearance within the cage since October 2024, when Ngannou fights Philipe Lins on Netflix this May.<\/p>\n<p>The event will mark the very first in MMA to air on the streaming platform, and the previous UFC heavyweight champion thinks plenty of huge names are needlessly missing out.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"bee02f23-2e1f-4f68-b17d-26073c096ec8\" data-story-name=\"MVP MMA: Rousey vs Carano\" data-comment-id=\"cf0eab4f-1c33-41ca-9f16-31b9293e8a53\" data-story-slug=\"mvp-mma-rousey-vs-carano\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-content\">\n<h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">Give us your early predictions for Francis Ngannou vs Philipe Lins. \u2b07\ufe0f<\/h3>\n<p class=\"grv-talking-point__subtitle\">They&#8217;ll fight for five rounds before Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano face off on May 16. \ud83d\udca5<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/HC98GEKbsAA_2Y3-819x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-297113\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/HC98GEKbsAA_2Y3-819x1024.jpeg 819w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/HC98GEKbsAA_2Y3-240x300.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/HC98GEKbsAA_2Y3-768x960.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/HC98GEKbsAA_2Y3-1229x1536.jpeg 1229w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/HC98GEKbsAA_2Y3-912x1140.jpeg 912w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/HC98GEKbsAA_2Y3-scaled.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/HC98GEKbsAA_2Y3-600x750.jpeg 600w\"><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Francis Ngannou urges UFC fighters to be brave enough to \u2018stand alone\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Ngannou is considered one of many former UFC stars who will make the walk at Inglewood\u2019s Intuit Dome on May 16.<\/p>\n<p>Nate Diaz will face Mike Perry and there will even be outings for Junior dos Santos and Muhammad Mokaev before Ronda Rousey headlines against Gina Carano.<\/p>\n<p>On the recent press conference in Recent York, Diaz described the event as one comprised of the \u201cfree\u201d fighters, a sentiment that got strong support from Ngannou.<\/p>\n<p>And through a recent interview with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=IxBp1vwkQso\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">ESPN<\/a>, \u2018The Predator\u2019 further explained why the upcoming Netflix event is evidence of why more fighters should get some \u2018balls\u2019 and take the jump into free agency.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s all the time the chance,\u201d Ngannou said. \u201cI feel you only must be around and be free. Be certain you\u2019re within the position to catch that chance when it comes. In the event you get yourself stuck in a contract since you\u2019re afraid of being alone on the market, when the chance comes, you may be stuck in some contract.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what happened to a number of fighters. They are only so petrified of being free, being without promotion, with no promoter, or something that they will do. They are going to join for every thing simply to be within the promotion, after which the day that the chance, the true opportunity, comes around, they usually are not there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis fight, this might have been a possibility for therefore many individuals, but they&#8217;re all locked somewhere within the contract that they usually are not very joyful about, that (is) not helping them,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut they don\u2019t have the balls to face on their very own and claim that freedom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of us speak about free agency, however it\u2019s prefer it\u2019s something that also demands you to be strong. You\u2019re going to be on the market on your individual without having any idea about your future, not knowing if you happen to\u2019re going to fight, have a brief notice in 10 days, or if you happen to\u2019re going to fight and go a 12 months back without fighting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t know. Just must be ready. Get yourself prepared for the chance.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2265326088-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Francis Ngannou during MVP press conference\" class=\"wp-image-297393\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2265326088-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2265326088-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2265326088-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2265326088-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2265326088-1140x760.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2265326088-750x500.jpg 750w\"><\/div><figcaption title=\"Cameroonian-French Francis Ngannou speaks during the Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and Netflix 5X5 Professional MMA bound pre-fight press conference outside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on March 10, 2026. Rhonda Rousey will face Gina Carano on May 16, 2026. Both fighters will be returning after lengthy retirements. Ngannou will face Brazilian Philipe Lins in the undercard match. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon \/ AFP via Getty Images)\">Photo by Patrick T. Fallon \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Some proceed to assert that the Cameroonian star made a mistake leaving the UFC, despite ticking off loads of his goals in combat sports since his departure.<\/p>\n<p>Ngannou almost beat Tyson Fury in his pro boxing debut before experiencing less success when he returned to the ring against one other former world heavyweight champion in Anthony Joshua.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The Predator\u2019 still holds boxing ambitions but has his sights set on the game by which he made his name in the intervening time.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-open see-more-blank extra-content\" data-src=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2026\/04\/23\/francis-ngannou-claims-most-fighters-are-not-brave-enough-to-claim-freedom-from-the-ufc\/none\" data-type=\"subscribe\">\n<div class=\"see-more subscribe\">\n<figure class=\"newsletter\">\n<div><svg class=\"loading\" width=\"118\" height=\"36\" viewbox=\"0 0 118 36\"><use href=\"#dots-svg\"><\/use><\/svg><\/p>\n<div class=\"signup\"><span class=\"hf\">Join Our Newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Receive a digest of our greatest Bloody Elbow content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Follow us on Google Discover Francis Ngannou knows he&#8217;s within the minority in relation to the profession path he has chosen since 2023. Ngannou left the UFC firstly of that 12 months following a lengthy contractual dispute. He has since fought once within the PFL and fulfilled his ambitions to cross over to boxing. Next, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":323468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21048],"tags":[13679,6146,1464,11260,1942,18455,7318,3928],"class_list":["post-323467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mma","tag-brave","tag-claim","tag-claims","tag-fighters","tag-francis","tag-freedom","tag-ngannou","tag-ufc"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323467"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":323470,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323467\/revisions\/323470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}