One day ago, millions tuned in to watch Francis Ngannou retain his heavyweight title against interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane. Despite being the biggest draw of the night, Ngannou walked away with $600,000. When considering how much money the UFC brings in, many have questioned why fighters aren’t paid more.
“The total combined payout for every fighter [at] UFC 270 was $1.8 million. [Tyson] Fury made $30 million in his third fight against [Deontay] Wilder. Wilder made $20 million. Fury and Wilder made 25 [times] more than all the UFC 270 fighters combined. Tell me that UFC fighter pay isn’t an issue,” Sporting News Combat Sports Senior Editor Andreas Hale tweeted.
Moving forward, Ngannou will look to get a bigger slice of the UFC profit pie or explore other options. Specifically, the UFC heavyweight champion has said that he’d like to try his hand at boxing. Over the last few weeks, he’s expressed an interest in fighting to heavyweight boxers like Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, Oleksandr and of course, Tyson Fury. Having watched Ngannou retain his title, Fury appears to be open to the possibility.
“Congratulations Francis Ngannou, but if you want to make some real money, come see the [Gypsy King],” Fury tweeted.
While Ngannou and Fury appear to be on board with a boxing match between the two, one man stands in the way of making it happen. UFC President Dana White has expressed no interest in allowing Ngannou to break out his contract and fight Fury.
“Listen man, these guys … none of this surprises me,” Dana White said when asked about Fury’s interest in boxing Ngannou.
“It’s like these boxing guys need guys to fight. You know what I mean? And yeah, no, it doesn’t surprise me at all.”
