"You could always go back to shoveling sand" - Fans give Francis Ngannou grief for complaining about lack of sponsorship 

UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou
UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou received flak from fans on social media after the UFC heavyweight champion complained about the fighters' lack of sponsorship.

Before 2015, UFC fighters were allowed to wear fight gear with their own sponsors' logos. However, that stream of income was taken away from the athletes when the UFC inked an exclusive uniform deal with Reebok and then with Venum after that.

Dana White explained that a deal was put in place to give the UFC presentation a more professional look. As far as Ngannou is concerned, however, the UFC should still allow fighters to have at least two sponsored logos on their uniforms. In that way, Ngannou believes a happy medium between uniformity and profitability can be achieved.

Check out the tweet below:

Unfortunately, a few uninformed fans seem to have taken issue with Ngannou's statement. A group of Twitter users – who appear to have very little knowledge of the situation – thinks Ngannou is merely complaining for the sake of it.

One user told Ngannou that he could always go back to mining sand in Cameroon. Another said that 'The Predator' knew exactly what he was signing up for when he agreed to join the UFC.

Fortunately, most Twitter users agreed with Ngannou's suggestion. Some believe fighters deserve more opportunities to earn, while others just want to see fighters wear personalized gear again.


Francis Ngannou claims he lost over $1 million due to UFC sponsorship

Francis Ngannou has been outspoken when it comes to the topic of fighter pay. The reigning UFC heavyweight champ has been in an ongoing contract dispute with the promotion and has threatened to leave the company due to issues that go way beyond money.

Recently, former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold aired his own grievances during Wednesday's media day as he sounded off about fighter pay. Ngannou apparently caught wind of Rockhold's comments and claimed to have been inspired to speak up.

"Listening to Luke's interview was very pertinent," Ngannou wrote on Twitter. "A lot of things that nobody is talking about it and the company just rolls with it."

Check out Francis Ngannou's tweets below:

Ngannou then fired off a series of tweets and revealed that he missed out on a deal worth over $1 million due to the UFC's sponsorship deal with Crypto.com.

'The Predator' is currently recovering from an injury he suffered earlier this year. According to the champion, the earliest he can return to action is in December or in early 2023.

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