Henry Cejudo thinks UFC pay dispute could distract Francis Ngannou during Ciryl Gane fight

Henry Cejudo is of the opinion that Francis Ngannou's pay dispute with the UFC could lead to his downfall against Ciryl Gane.

Ngannou will look to defend his heavyweight crown for the first time against former training partner Gane this Saturday at UFC 270. However, 'The Predator' is also entangled with UFC brass over contract negotiations – something Cejudo believes could be detrimental come fight night.

During the latest episode of the Triple C & Schmo Show, Cejudo said:

"That's where he has to be careful, Schmo. He has to be careful because there's a lot of stress there when it comes to you talking about money and things like that. You should probably bring it up at the very end and I wouldn't have that money factor before you go in there and you're going to fight because Ciryl Gane is no dummy. He's trained with you, he knows the power that you have in your hands. And if he's able to fight you correctly – if he can wear you out and tire you out kind of like the Conor McGregor take that gas away from you – he could beat you."

Cejudo also offered his advice to the reigning heavyweight champion. According to 'Triple C', it's in Ngannou's best interest to keep the money talks out of his mind and solely focus on the task at hand.

Henry Cejudo chimes in on Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane:

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Francis Ngannou claims Ciryl Gane is nothing but a joke

Francis Ngannou doesn't appear to be too worried about Ciryl Gane ahead of their heavyweight title unification bout at UFC 270. During an episode of UFC Embedded, the Cameroonian claimed he always knew his rival was a "joke."

Nonetheless, Ngannou said he's going into the title clash with the hunger of a challenger. 'The Predator' said:

"Now I'm the defender, the last time I was the challenger – a title challenger. For me it's kind of like the same thing because I don't want to let everything that happened affect me from the next fight. I know I'm still thinking as a challenger to focus and perform the best. But as far as the interim title, I do not care about that... I knew he was a joke and he's still a joke."

Watch the full episode of UFC Embedded below:

Francis Ngannou became the UFC heavyweight champion after dethroning Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 last year. Ciryl Gane was crowned the interim champion following his TKO victory over Derrick Lewis at UFC 265.

'The Predator' and 'Bon Gamin' will battle for undisputed supremacy at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, this weekend.