Did UFC lose the bid to sign Francis Ngannou?

Francis Ngannou's exit from the UFC was a shocker, but there was always evidence to suggest it was imminent. Dana White made it clear that the UFC strived to retain their heavyweight superstar with a ludicrous payday but they were turned down.

A New Year's post from Ngannou on Instagram heightened speculation of a move away from the promotion. Two of the pictures in his post showed a person, presumably a relative or friend, in a Professional Fighters League T-shirt.

There was no official word on the same from either of the promotions and Ngannou denied reports of a move.

Check out the post below:

Up next was a billboard leak at T-Mobile Arena which suggested the return of Jon Jones in a heavyweight title matchup against Ciryl Gane, effectively confirming that Ngannou has vacated his belt.

In the aftermath of the leak, Dana White addressed the press after UFC Vegas 67 and confirmed various facts about the entire saga. He affirmed that 'The Predator' is no longer the heavyweight champion and the belt will be contested between Jones and Gane on March 4 at UFC 285.

White also revealed that the UFC offered Ngannou a historic deal that may have made him the highest-paid heavyweight ever. He compared the deal to the one he offered Fedor Emelianenko, but both deals never achieved fruition.

Ultimately, Francis Ngannou prioritized having control over his fights and free reign to venture into big-money boxing over a contract as rigid as the UFC's. The Cameroonian free agent had previously voiced his concerns over the contract structure at UFC and was not prepared to settle for it, despite the massive payday being offered.

Check out the tweets from Ariel Helwani and Aaron Bronsteter that recapped White's press conference address:

---

Jake Paul declares that Francis Ngannou is still the heavyweight champion

YouTuber turned boxing sensation Jake Paul recently signed on with the PFL as he forays into mixed martial arts for the first time.

With Francis Ngannou a free agent and multiple promotions lobbying for his signature, the PFL is a very likely destination for the former UFC champ. Paul tweeted about his potential future colleague's departure from the UFC.

He said:

"Francis Ngannou is the baddest man on the planet & is a free agent bc he chose to be. He’s the heavyweight champ in MMA & will be until he loses. They are not happy about this. But it’s reality, & they have to deal with it. They have to live with that everyday. @francis_ngannou"

Check out Jake Paul's tweet below:

Fans have suggested a potential matchup between the two, but the different weight classes suggest that is unlikely.