UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is yet to sign a new deal with the promotion as his future remains in question.
Ngannou, 36, hasn't fought since defending his title for the first time against former training partner Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January. The Cameroonian entered that fight with injured knee ligaments that were only worsened after going the distance against Gane. Ngannou, who is free to leave the UFC at the end of this year, revealed the promotion hasn't sent him a new contract offer.
“My contract status right now is still the same. I haven’t received any offer. It’s the same,” he told MMA on SiriusXM. " I hope in the next two to three months, we get to deal with that. To solve that. It’s not surprising to me. I think we’re not in a rush. I’m not in a rush, either. I’m not going anywhere, so I’m not rushing. At the end of the day, we have time."
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Ngannou is six months on from his successful knee surgery but still faces months of recovery before he is able to fight again. 'The Predator' is strictly limited to pad work and strength and conditioning training, but wants to be back to full training by November. Ngannou is targeting his comeback fight against Jon Jones, who hasn't fought in over two years, in the early months of 2023.
"The recovery has been good, it's moving slow but I think it makes sense because they said it would take a minimum of nine months for just ACL but because I have an LCL [injury] as well, it might be about 10 months," he added. It's been six months already but it feels like it's been forever. I am able to workout now, do strength and conditioning and hit some mitts. The goal in the next two months is for me to be back in the gym, fully training.
"As my preferred opponent, it would be Jon Jones obviously. That's what I've always wanted, I need that big payday. Also this has to be a big statement, fighting Jon Jones is more than a payday. It's a big challenge, the guy has been dominating the sport for over a decade so I think he's a very good guy."
Former pound-for-pound No.1 Jones has been linked to make his heavyweight debut against Ngannou for years, but has also been caught up in his own contractual row with the promotion. Jones outlined his hopes of competing at UFC 282 in December and has been linked to an interim heavyweight title fight against Stipe Miocic.
