Francis Ngannou Says He Made $600K in Last UFC Fight; Reported $20M Purse vs. Joshua

Paul KasabianFeatured Columnist IIMarch 8, 2024

Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing via Getty Images

Frances Ngannou revealed on the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman that he made $600,000 after his last UFC fight, a Jan. 2022 unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane to defend the promotion’s heavyweight title.

Pound 4 Pound @pound4poundshowFull interview with @francis_ngannou is live now. All this, upcoming fights, and more🥊🇨🇲 pic.twitter.com/gzukkmx9Un

Ngannou says UFC was offering him millions instead of the $600,000, but that would have locked him into a contract that wouldn’t have given him his desired freedom.

“In that contract, I’m not free,” he said on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani in January 2023 (h/t Steven Marrocco of MMA Fighting). “I’m not an independent contractor. I have no rights. I hand over all the power to you guys. I’ve seen in the past how you guys can utilize your power against me, and I don’t want that.”

Ngannou’s decision to leave UFC with president Dana White has turned out to be a lucrative one, then. He could be making in the neighborhood of $20 million for his upcoming heavyweight boxing match with Anthony Joshua, per Brian Mazique of Forbes:

“His drawing power has only increased based on Ngannou’s showing vs. Fury, a fight that saw him floor the lineal champion before losing a controversial unanimous decision. There’s every reason to believe his payday, before pay-per-view sales and sponsorships kick in, could be approaching $20 million.”

Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal previously reported that Ngannou’s agent confirmed his client is receiving an eight-figure payday for this bout.

Ngannou also made $10 million for his fight against heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury. So needless to say, he’s raking in some well-deserved cash right now in his post-UFC career.