Outside Source
While the heavyweight division once used to be the crown jewel of MMA promotions, that is no longer the case. With barely any competition left at the highest level, the UFC is widely considered the biggest promotion. Even the UFC has been unable to get things working smoothly for its heavyweight division.
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Ngannou (18-3) believes “mismanagement” has led to the current plight of the heavyweight division. Ngannou clarifies that he is not blaming the managers of fighters, but rather the promotions. The former UFC heavyweight champion notes that current heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is not on the best terms with the UFC.
“I would say mismanagement,” Ngannou told The Schmo. “There is a lot of mismanagement that sometimes gets stuff screwed up. That’s where we’re at today… Like Tom Aspinall is having troubles… When I said mismanagement, I wasn’t talking about manager. I was talking mostly about the promotion.”
Tough Times at Heavyweight
The UFC heavyweight division hasn’t been what it used to be for quite a while now. However, the current decline probably started with Ngannou’s rift with the UFC. After winning the UFC heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic in 2021, Ngannou kept waiting for a fight against Jon Jones, which never came to fruition. Ngannou eventually defended his title against Ciryl Gane before getting into a lengthy contract dispute with the UFC over various demands, like health insurance for fighters, permission to compete in crossover boxing, etc. Ngannou eventually parted ways with the UFC in 2023 and signed with the Professional Fighters League. The PFL contract allowed Ngannou to compete in boxing, and he made the most of it by fighting Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, albeit coming up short on both occasions. However, Ngannou competed only once in the PFL, dethroning heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira in 2024. Ngannou recently parted ways with the PFL and signed with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, where he is scheduled to compete against fellow UFC alum Philipe Lins on May 16.
Meanwhile, Jones won the vacant UFC title against Gane after Ngannou departed from the UFC. Jones stalled the division for more than a year while defending his title against Miocic. Jones kept avoiding the interim champion, Tom Aspinall, allegedly over money, before retiring last year. After getting promoted to undisputed champ, Aspinall put his title on the line against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 this past October. However, the fight ended in an anticlimactic no-contest after Aspinall was left unable to continue due to a double eye-poke by Gane in the first round. Dana White was seemingly disappointed with Aspinall’s decision not to continue and hinted at the same publicly. Aspinall also lashed out at White for downplaying his injury. Gane is now scheduled to fight Alex Pereira for the interim heavyweight title at the White House on June 14.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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