ONE Championship: Chatri Sityodtong details Francis Ngannou contract demands after ‘two-face’ Twitter jab
- ONE boss, who says former UFC heavyweight king was offered US$20 million for 2 fights, is ready to let bygones be bygones.
- ‘I wish him the best wherever he goes. Francis is a stud. He’s a good guy – he’s going to do good no matter what,’ Chatri says
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou appeared to take a jab at Chatri Sityodtong on Twitter on Tuesday, but the ONE CEO and chairman is ready to move past their recent issues.
Ngannou seemed to take issue with the Chatri’s version of the story, Tweeting a photo of the Batman villain Two-Face with a caption that appeared to reference their recent interactions.
If the former UFC heavyweight champion’s Twitter jab bothered Chatri, he hid it well.
“It’s unfortunate, with ONE, we had to withdraw from the process [with Ngannou],” he told the Post following Wednesday’s ONE Fight Night 10 pre-fight press conference in Denver, Colorado.
“It doesn’t take anything away from his life story – he’s incredible, an incredible martial artist.”
Chatri went on to shed light on the offer he planned to make Ngannou.
“I can tell you that our offer – which we never finalised and submitted in contract form – it was a minimum US$20 million guarantee for two fights, and then more fights beyond that and a bunch of other stuff,” he said.
“But what came down to was not the money, it was non-financial stuff. Rather than focus on that, I’d rather focus on, ‘Hey look, it didn’t work out with Francis, but we wish him the very best’.”
With ONE off the table, it remains to be seen where Ngannou will sign, though many fans and pundits consider the Professional Fighters League the front runner for his services.
Despite the recent heat between them, Chatri seemed keen to move on.
“I wish him the best wherever he goes,” he said. “Francis is a stud. He’s a good guy – he’s going to do good no matter what.”
Ngannou parted ways with the UFC in January, relinquishing the promotion’s heavyweight belt in the process.
In his most recent fight, he defended the belt with a lopsided decision defeat of fellow Frenchman Ciryl Gane. He won the title in 2021 with a brutal knockout of heavyweight great Stipe Miocic.
ONE Fight Night 10, slated for this Friday night in Denver, will mark ONE’s debut on US soil.
The card will be headlined by a flyweight MMA title fight between champion Demetrious Johnson – an 11-time former UFC champ himself – and challenger Adriano Moraes.
