Francis Ngannou has responded to 'ignorant' Conor McGregor criticism following his defection from UFC to rival series PFL.
Ngannou signed for the Professional Fighters League after failing to come to an agreement with UFC bosses after several rounds of negotiations. He has since announced that he will make a debut in 2024, but is still aiming to pursue a career in the boxing ring including a tune-up fight before the end of this year. In the process of defecting from the UFC he has vacated his Heavyweight title.
As fans awaited news of The Predator's next move, UFC superstar McGregor issued criticism of his departure suggesting that the ex-champion had made an error of judgement. McGregor said on the MMA Hour, “He was in that Performance Institute, using all the equipment, there was no dough on that.
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"There wouldn’t have been no charge on that. Like he’s going to get accommodation, he’s getting everything sorted. I thought he made an error, to be honest. I mean, he hasn’t fought in a minute. Get a bout under the belt and then maybe start. I wasn’t sure why he done that, to be honest, and you know, it has kind of taken the shine off of him how it went but look, I wish him well.”
However, Ngannou has taken a swipe at his critics, including McGregor, insisting he feels he has made the right call with regards to his fighting future. “It wasn’t hard [to ignore criticism] because I knew what I was working on," he said on the DAZN MMA Show, “I knew that I had the best deal. I knew they were just talking out of ignorance.
“They didn’t know what was going on and was just [reacting to] general speculation. When you are doing stuff that people don’t understand your vision or where you are coming from and where you are going, it’s hard for people, they are questioning if you are wrong or if it’s the right thing.
They don’t have all the ups and downs of the situation. They are not in your shoes. So, unless you explained to them, they will not know, there will be a lot of speculation, a lot of doubt.”
Ngannou is not expected to return to the cage until 2022, but he is instead currently working on securing a tune-up boxing fight before taking on a leading contender next year. There are several fights that the Cameroon star is interested in to boost his profile including against British star Anthony Joshua.
Deontay Wilder could also be an option with talsk already held over a potential fight deal. Meanwhile Ngannou has also publicly agreed terms with WBC champion Tyson Fury but a showdown has yet to materialise into an official offer.
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