When Jake Paul said he had “big names” in the UFC onside in his crusade against Dana White, who knew he meant the king of the biggest division in the promotion? Francis Ngannou, the UFC heavyweight champion, said on his YouTube channel that he is “1000 per cent” with Jake Paul in his push for improved working conditions for the UFC roster.
“I’m 100 percent with him for what he says. Like when he claims for fighter health care, I’m 100 percent down with that. When he [claims he’s] for fighter pay increase, I’m 1,000 percent down for that.
Ngannou With Jake Paul “1000 Per Cent”
Fighters are not protected. Fighters are all out there on their own, and nobody looks out for them. Like, I walk around the gym sometimes and you will see a fighter, maybe he just lost a fight, and then he’s training and he’ll get an injury.
He will take this injury and just hope that he heals, because he can’t afford the treatment, knowing that he’s doing this for a living. He has a contract and all this stuff. It’s tough to watch [that] stuff and to think that it’s normal. No, it’s not normal. They’re putting their body on the line for something. At least [give them] health care.”
Ngannou’s support comes during a long, protracted contract dispute with the UFC. Francis Ngannou is rare among the UFC’s fighters in that he is making his complaints about the organization public, rather than addressing the promotion in private.
Although UFC president Dana White says everything’s good with Ngannou, the heavyweight champ begs to differ, and has done so repeatedly, via both the press and social media.
“This is something that they don’t like. But I have to look after myself, try to do what is best for me. There’s a lot of terms in that contract that I would like [to change]. I don’t like them. The fact that it’s a one-way contract, I have no guarantee. In the past two years, they claim to provide three fights for their fighters every year.
But in the past two years, I fought twice. I could at least fight five times. And knowing that I’m counting on that to make my living, that was kind of like, I felt like I was freezed to get financial pressure, to maybe come to an agreement from what they are saying, to need them.
So that was something that I felt, and I don’t want to get in this position anymore. If I want to give something to somebody, give me some guarantee in return. Like, I can sign a contract that I might not be able to fight [for] one year and have no explanation and [they] can claim anything [as the reason], because at the end of the day, the contract says [the UFC] is the judge, the jury, and the prosecution.”
Is Jake Paul the ally Ngannou thinks he is? Let us know in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3XkvK_n41I
