So did Francis make a mistake leaving the UFC?

[PBAC]

So he'd probably leverage some contender levels fights and make some buck. There's still a curiosity factor in how he might actually perform. We all know Tyson did not look good, even or himself, and there was no footage to work with for Joshua. I think something like a Mc Gregor v Pauli Mallinagi would work well. He'd land some good gigs on Misfits show. As is he's not getting more title fights in boxing and risks becoming a fringe fighter in UFC.

7 mill against Fury, 20 mill against Joshua.

600k for UFC. Undercard fighters in boxing events make more than that. So ... if he's in it for the money then is it acceptable that he no longer sees his name up in lights.

 

[Schoolboy Q]

Nah, he got paid, he doesn’t seem to really care about his legacy but respect for getting those big pay days. He had a solid MMA career, not sure I’d call him a hall of famer though.

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Depends what his goal was.

Me? I wanted him to stick around in MMA because I much prefer it to boxing.

His bank account is definitely better off. His potential legacy is not, although he's blazed his own trail and you've gotta hand it to the guy

 

[HunterAcosta]

All about the cheddar . Fighting for legacy is bullshit cause it aint like old days. People have 5 min attention spans . Ask a 12 year old who Babe Ruth is or Marvin Hagler or Joe Namath .

 

[Ruthless Ryan]

Getting paid is what his goal was and cant blame him at this stage of his career even though he was offered good bank to stay in UFC. I was surprised he landed the Fury fight as it seemed a but of a far fetch to me but he did and he did well even though i'm sure Fury took him a little too easy and didnt train like he would against a real boxer.
However reality set in when Joshua put him to sleep and now I'm not sure where he goes from here after losing that badly.

 

[iwannabeadored]

Getting paid is what his goal was and cant blame him at this stage of his career even though he was offered good bank to stay in UFC. I was surprised he landed the Fury fight as it seemed a but of a far fetch to me but he did and he did well even though i'm sure Fury took him a little too easy and didnt train like he would against a real boxer.
However reality set in when Joshua put him to sleep and now I'm not sure where he goes from here after losing that badly.

He struck gold. He basically the second highest paid mma fighter behind Conor ever.


It’s heavyweight boxing. Aj got starched 4 years ago at his peak. It happens.,

He went for guaranteed money. He’s good. He won the belt, defended it in mma his legacy is solid.

 

[randomg1t]

he left the UFC while he was still the champion and jones was nowhere to be found. to anyone with half a brain cell, his legacy is fine.

as far as money goes, he obviously made a lot more now in these two fights than he would've in the UFC.

not to mention he dropped the lineal HW champ while making his debut. the guy fought two of the very best in a different sport and at least in the fury fight he looked like he belonged there.

 

[Hdfi]

No, he got $ 30 million or something. He embarrassed MMA and conned everyone (myself included), gotta admire his sagacity.

 

[Tapatio]

Lmfao fuck no. It's pretty easy. Just do the numbers. He can still parlay his popularity into another fight, maybe someone with a name he has a shot at beating (like Chisora or White). He has that one shot power that gives him a puncher's chance.

 

[TylerBlack]

Lmfao fuck no. It's pretty easy. Just do the numbers. He can still parlay his popularity into another fight, maybe someone with a name he has a shot at beating (like Chisora or White). He has that one shot power that gives him a puncher's chance.

Chisora vs ngannou all day but I think whyte would brutally ko francis . Give Derek his massive Saudi payday

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

That fight went very badly for him, but overall, no.

From a financial perspective theres no way he was gonna make more money than he just did from those two boxing matches.

From a health/legacy perspective? thats a tougher one. Iron chinned biggest puncher in MMA history Ngannou is now forever on tape being handled with ease and knocked clean out inside 5 mins. That KO probably compromised his chin permanently in a way that will make him more vulnerable in either sport going forward too. But on the other hand, hes 37, and with guys like Aspinall, Jones, Pav, Jailton around and Gane probably getting more well rounded as we speak, theres no guarantee that he would have stayed on top for much longer in the UFC.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

That fight went very badly for him, but overall, no.

From a financial perspective theres no way he was gonna make more money than he just did from those two boxing matches.

From a health/legacy perspective? thats a tougher one. Iron chinned biggest puncher in MMA history Ngannou is now forever on tape being handled with ease and knocked clean out inside 5 mins. That KO probably compromised his chin permanently in a way that will make him more vulnerable in either sport going forward too. But on the other hand, hes 37, and with guys like Aspinall, Jones, Pav, Jailton around and Gane probably getting more well rounded as we speak, theres no guarantee that he would have stayed on top for much longer in the UFC.

He did have a granite chin by MMA standards at least. That KO could have cracked it permanently. Some fighters aren't the same after getting knocked out. There's no way to tell until he fights again or he's put in with another heavy handed opponent. His handlers should feed him someone mediocre to boost his confidence whether that's in boxing or MMA. A rebound fight.

 

[PBAC]

I'm just going to say it. 100% Dana brings him back to the UFC to fight Jones.

 

[ferrisjso]

Even on the sporting merits he was one round or unscored KD away from being the lineal HW champ of the world in boxing.

On the financial merits Francis clearly made the right choice.

 

[Old Cat]

It’s called prizefighting for a reason, the dude got a much bigger prize, so no.

 

[cuban23]

He made reportedly $30M in two fights, about 10x the amount he made in his entire UFC career.

 

[YourBoss]

He is still one if not the most scary UFC fighter in history and made a shitload of money. if he plays it smart he and his kids will never have to work a day in their lifes. also i would love to see him fight a bum for his last fight in order to get a spectacular win and then retire on a high note.

 

[mozfonky]

So he'd probably leverage some contender levels fights and make some buck. There's still a curiosity factor in how he might actually perform. We all know Tyson did not look good, even or himself, and there was no footage to work with for Joshua. I think something like a Mc Gregor v Pauli Mallinagi would work well. He'd land some good gigs on Misfits show. As is he's not getting more title fights in boxing and risks becoming a fringe fighter in UFC.

7 mill against Fury, 20 mill against Joshua.

600k for UFC. Undercard fighters in boxing events make more than that. So ... if he's in it for the money then is it acceptable that he no longer sees his name up in lights.

from a money perspective no, from an image and embarrassment perspective probably. Who cares, he got two great paydays when he concievably shouldn't have ever gotten any. Boxers toil for those kinds of paydays and he just trades in his mma clout for boxing clout which he didn't earn.

 

[Nausicaa]

His goal was always money. He left his village for money, not legacy. So he achieved his goal of maximizing money. Respect.

 

[Noveltymortar]

For his legacy, yes. Bank account, no.