Francis Ngannou advised he "should be going nuts" amid UFC contract row

Francis Ngannou has been told by UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta he should be going nuts with the UFC over ongoing contractual issues.

Ngannou fought out of his contract when he defended his heavyweight title for the first time against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 earlier this month.

'The Predator' was refusing to sign a new deal heading into the bout, feeling "unprotected" by terms offered by the promotion and demanding more money.

He also requested a clause that would allow him to box heavyweight stars such as Tyson Fury whilst under contract with the UFC.

And UFC veteran Iaquinta has praised Ngannou for sticking to his morals by turning down the promotion's offers.

“Good for Francis, guy stuck to his guns. Francis is the guy that should be going nuts right now," Iaquinta told The MMA Hour.

UFC president Dana White was absent from the octagon to present Ngannou with the belt after his win and also skipped the post-fight press conference.

And Iaquinta said something "crazy" must have been happening for White to miss the main event.

“What the hell was going on in the back! What was going on? Who was in the back? We’ve gotta find out. I want to know what happened in the back," he continued.

"I need to know. That must have been something crazy going on back there. It must have been a fight. Someone else must have fought back there.

"Something must have happened. We’ve got to find out what happened.”

White insisted he didn't intentionally snub Ngannou after his win and was dealing with "stuff" going on backstage during the fight.

The heavyweight champion will be sidelined for most of 2022 as he needs surgery for torn knee ligaments he suffered whilst training for UFC 270.

When asked if he would rather face Jon Jones or boxing