UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has decided to go ahead with knee surgery which will keep him out of action for nine months, essentially guaranteeing that he won’t fight again this year.
Ngannou had gone into his last heavyweight title defense against Ciryl Gane with a completely torn ACL and damaged ACL, but still emerged victorious on the scorecards.
Afterwards there was a lot of talk that Ngannou would now look to sit out the rest of his contract with the UFC after having so far failing to see eye-to-eye with the promotion with regards to a new deal, and this surgery appears to suggest that he is still proceeding with his intention to become a free agent.
With that being said, Ngannou’s management team have revealed that the UFC are still looking to negotiate with the star to ensure he continues to compete in the Octagon, and it seems that they are still willing to listen.
“I appreciated and supported the UFC’s dinner invitation to Francis,” CAA’s Marquel Martin told ESPN. “I believe Francis and Dana needed to get together in that kind of setting. We’re all looking forward now to sitting down with the UFC in a professional capacity to map out the next chapter in Francis’s journey.”
