ISRAEL ADESANYA believes the UFC will 'come to terms' with Francis Ngannou, their heavyweight champion.
Ngannou is currently in the last year of his UFC contract, but he has not indicated any intention to sign a new contract with the UFC's premier promotion in mixed martial arts.
Francis Ngannou is in a contract impasse
As he is eager to box with UFC's blessing, the Predator turned down a PS5million offer from the UFC.
Ngannou, who is aiming for a fight with Tyson Fury, WBC heavyweight champion, appears to be open to free agency if he doesn't get his requests met.
Adesanya, middleweight champion, believes that a deal will be reached. He told SunSport: "They'll [come to terms].
"They will make it happen because Francis loves to fight.
Get a PS10 Bonus with 100s of Games to Play and No Deposit Required"I believe they can reach an agreement where he gets the UFC what he wants, and vice versa.
"Which means having their heavyweight champion in the world with them. They can certainly come to an agreement with that, I think.
"But how they're going to get there, that's between them both."
Ngannou, 34 was last seen in action against Ciryl Gane, his former training partner - with whom he fought in the main event at UFC 270.
UFC's first African-born heavyweight champion retained his title by unanimous decision. Fans were shocked at his newfound wrestling skills.
Ngannou, after the fight, revealed that he had torn his MCL and ACL ligaments in right knee.
Cameroonian Cameroonian was taken under the knife last week. He will be sidelined for the next nine-months.
Ngannou shared an update about his recovery earlier in the week and also shared a photo of him on crutches outside UFC's Performance Institute.
He wrote, "First day rehab to get that knee back in line. It will be a lengthy process but it will be worth it.
The UFC will not allow the heavyweight division stagnate with Ngannou at the sidelines. They plan to introduce an interim title to the mix.
President Dana White stated: "It's possible [we crown an interim champ]. We will find out how long he is out in the next week.
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"If he's true to nine months, it's going take nine months before he can start training again.
"It was almost a year ago that he would fight. We would fight for an interim title, so yeah."
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