LAS VEGAS—Francis Ngannou is no longer the UFC’s heavyweight champion.
UFC president Dana White announced Saturday that the promotion was unable to come to terms with Ngannou for a new contract and has instead elected to release him from the promotion. With the reigning champion departing, the organization has now booked former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former interim heavyweight titleholder Ciryl Gane for the main event of UFC 285 with the UFC heavyweight title on the line.
“We’ve been working on a new agreement with Francis for like two years now, and we had gotten to a point where he was going to fight Jon Jones, many who believe, including me, that he’s the best of all time, for the heavyweight championship,” White said following Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 217 event. “Jon Jones has been willing and ready and able to fight anybody. He didn’t care who it was. It could have been anybody in the heavyweight division. He was ready to go.
“We offered Francis a deal that would have made him the highest-paid heavyweight in the history of the company—more than (Brock) Lesnar, more than anybody, and he turned the deal down.”
White said Ngannou is now free to sign with any promotion he chooses and that the UFC will not look to exercise any matching options that might apply to the expired deal.
“We get to this point, where I’ve told you guys this before, if you don’t want to be here, you don’t have to be here,” White said. “I think Francis is in a place right now where he doesn’t want to take a lot of risks. He feels like he’s in a good position where he could fight lesser opponents and make more money, so we’re going to let him do that. We’re going to release him from his contract. We’re going to give up our right to match, and he can go wherever he wants and do whatever he wants. That’s where we’re at.”
Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) claimed the UFC’s interim heavyweight title with an August 2021 win over Derrick Lewis, though he would suffer a decision loss to Ngannou five months later in a unification bout. Gane, 32, has since rebounded with a September 2022 win in his native France over Tai Tuivasa and will now challenge for the undisputed heavyweight title.
Meanwhile, Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) is one of the most decorated champions in UFC history with 11 successful title defenses of the promotion’s light heavyweight title across two title reigns. However, he has not competed since a February 2020 win over Dominick Reyes. Jones, 35, will now return from a three-year layoff spent adding muscle to his frame in a long-planned move to heavyweight in an attempt to join a select list of athletes who have claimed UFC titles in two weight classes.
UFC 285 takes place on March 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
