Francis Ngannou has admitted his disagreement with the UFC was not entirely down to "money" after his exit was announced.
The Cameroon star was embroiled in a contract dispute with the promotion which continued after his title defence win over Cyril Gane last January. Ngannou, 36, was unhappy with his pay and had threatened to walk away from the UFC to pursue more lucrative fighting options, including a boxing clash with Tyson Fury.
News broke this week that Ngannou would be released from the UFC after failing to agree a new deal, with Jon Jones and Gane to contest his vacated heavyweight title in March. On Tuesday, the former heavyweight champion spoke out for the first time since the decision was made, explaining the reason he parted ways with the promotion after months of talks.
He told the MMA Hour: "I knew it would happen at some point but I have no stress, I feel very good about it and I know that I did everything right and I have no regrets. If I had to do it again, I would do the same thing. The last time I spoke to them was last Tuesday, they tried one more time and I couldn't say yes. It was just a matter of principle and at that time I knew this was it.
"They didn't say on the phone that this would happen, but I knew this was coming. I didn't do anything wrong. It doesn't matter what happens. I really hoped for this to work out and wished we could find a way for this to work out. I always see myself in the UFC, I never envisioned myself outside of the UFC. I was willing to compromise over and over but I got to the point where I just said, 'guys give me a break'.
"I guess money was a part of it but it wasn't all about money. They don't talk about what the negotiation was about. They just talked about the money to make it the biggest heavyweight contract in history, they control the narrative, but I wish it could have worked out. It was a three-fight deal, I asked for the three but no extension. One was Jon Jones, Stipe then a rematch with Jon Jones."
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Ngannou had insisted that he was not solely in search of higher pay, but had also reportedly demanded that an exit clause was adopted in his deal so that he could negotiate boxing fights outside of his UFC campaign. However, talks broke down and a number of offers are expected to arrive for Ngannou, including from MMA promotions Bellator and PFL.
UFC president Dana White explained the situation from his point of view when announcing the news on Sunday, where he claimed Ngannou was offered a lucrative fresh deal. However, Ngannou was refusing to compromise on several different things outside of money, including the sponsorship rights and health insurance.
He continued: "I asked for sponsorship rights which we have been ripped off and we can't have sponsorship. I asked for health insurance and I asked for someone in the board meeting who can advocate for the fighters. I cannot have those things that I asked for, but I wanted to know they are things I do want and take them into consideration.
"They said, 'no, we don't do business like that'. They said I can pay my health insurance, but I said how about those guys who are at the bottom? It is something that I still carried in my heart. I was asking it for everyone. I knew it couldn't happen but I asked, yes. But even the money wasn't that okay."
