It is unusual in life to encounter someone who lives by principle. There are not many people who do that, rich or poor. Living by principle typically comes with costs, and those costs are something most people do not want to pay. This is not merely financial costs, but ostracism, embarrassment, or a smeared legacy. For the few in society that prioritize principles and values, virtue is its own reward. Virtue does not lead to greater transactional things. And for those few, virtue will be enough.
One of the most talked about subjects in the MMA community in 2022 was the status of UFC Heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Ngannou had signed a new contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in December 2017. Until recently, UFC contracts were thought as iron clad by the fighters and viewers alike. Despite fighters holding the ‘independent contractor’ label, they have very little power in the business dynamic. Fighters sign a deal with the organization for a specific number of bouts for a set amount of pay per bout with opponents they choose. The UFC primarily dictates these terms and has the ability to cut a fighter whenever they find it advantageous. This means that fighters only had two options if they did not want to fight in the UFC anymore: complete the number of agreed upon fights in the contract, or get cut for poor performance. Whatever method fighters choose, UFC leadership will use difficult stylistic matchmaking to ensure fighters lose bouts as they leave the organization, therefore hurting their brand. This generally works in favor of UFC leadership as it encourages fighters to resign before the end of their deals, the message being “sign our contract or fight the most difficult matchups”. This sentiment extends even further if a fighter wins a championship in the organization. The infamous “champions clause” allows the UFC to add fights onto a contract indefinitely as long as a champion continues to win. This allow the UFC to retain a champion in the organization until they officially lose the belt to another fighter, allowing the championship lineage to continue uninterrupted.
Relationships between Francis Ngannou and UFC leadership deteriorated after he signed his deal in December 2017. Despite being a headline attraction in one of the biggest sports organizations on the planet, Ngannou was only making around $100,000 per fight. Juxtaposed to a top ranked heavyweight boxer that earns in the millions per fight, the disparity was apparent. Despite nearing the end of the number of fights on his contract in July 2018, Ngannou refused to sign a new deal with the UFC.
Francis Ngannou and his legal team noticed something most other fights had not while reading over his contract terms after signing in December 2017: A five-year sunset clause. This was a new addition that the UFC had recently started including to their contracts in the face of the anti-trust class action lawsuit the organization was gearing up for. After winning the championship belt from Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 in March 2021, Ngannou had one fight left on his contract. He proceeded to go on a media tour as champion letting everyone know that he intended to fight out his deal in order to pursue other opportunities outside of the octagon.
This was massive news. Not since the days of Randy Couture and BJ Penn had a fighter attempted to take a stance against the UFC in the way Ngannou had. He knew what his value to the organization was and he was not going to play ball. This grew into even bigger news when Ngannou defeated Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022 to complete his contract. Between the sunset clause and completing the number of fights on his deal, Francis Ngannou had become a free agent. No fighter, especially not a lineal organizational champion, had ever successfully completed their contract in such a manner. The UFC designed their system to have fighters face defeat on the way out the door, tarnishing the fighter’s brand and potential monetary leverage in the process. Francis Ngannou had accomplished something no fighter had before.
During a press conference on January 14th 2023, UFC President Dana White revealed that Francis Ngannou was stripped the UFC Heavyweight Champion and was released from the UFC. A returning Jon Jones and Cyril Gane would fight for the vacant UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 285.
The best heavyweight fighter in the world no longer belongs to the UFC.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Francis Ngannou revealed that he had been offered a new contract that would allow him to earn $8 million per appearance, the highest paying contract for a heavyweight ever. Ngannou made it clear to his employers that in order for him to resign with the organization, he wanted two things: 1) health insurance for all fighters in the organization, and 2) an executive liaison to represent fighter interests during organizational planning and decision making. The UFC unequivocally denied this request.
Francis Ngannou had a certain set of values and living by those values were incredibly important to him. Francis Ngannou has principle.
Because the attributes of the fight business are so brutal, the public tends to distill it down to the essential principle: Money. Fighters are expected to get what they can and get out, and there is not a lot of judgement about that. That mentality is not only considered business standards, but best practices.
If Ngannou metaphorically falls flat on his face, he will become the cautionary tale, a retraction. He took that risk knowing this. I hope that long term he is remembered fondly for the choice that he has made, but how often do athletes benefit from taking a stand against industry standards? Many of them ended up broke, ended up a footnote, ended up lost.
For fans that found what Ngannou did admirable, I implore you to follow his journey in the coming months. Saying that you support him on social media is great, and telling your friends you support him is great, but that alone is not enough. It is not worth anything. The only thing that matters in the business is how you vote with you attention and wallet.
