ONE Championship moves on from Francis Ngannou deal

ONE Champion will not offer Francis Ngannou a deal after three-hour-long meeting.

Another one bites the dust.

According to Nick Atkin of SCMP, ONE Championship has moved on from making a deal with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong told the outlet, “I met with Francis yesterday for almost 3 hours. ONE has decided to withdraw from the process of bidding for Francis Ngannou’s services."

Fans had hoped that the Asian-based promotion was close to a deal with Ngannou after Sityodtong teased a huge offer was on the table for the striker.

It seems that offer will not be presented to Ngannou afterall.

“After careful reflection, we decided not to submit our final offer. Francis is a good guy and a good champion. I wish him continued success and happiness," Sityodtong said. “At the end of the day, I didn’t feel Francis and I were fully aligned on non-financial matters. It is nothing personal. It is just a lack of alignment.”

With ONE out of the way, this leaves Ngannou with a few more options such as signing with PFL or Bellator or moving over to boxing. Only time will tell what happens next.