Francis Ngannou damaged his legacy after leaving UFC, says former MMA slugger

Was Francis Ngannou’s legacy tarnished by his boxing venture?

Ngannou’s decision to leave the UFC while he was the promotion’s heavyweight champion sparked a debate online. “The Predator” sought out the freedom to box, and it almost led to a victory over future Hall of Famer Tyson Fury. “The Predator” ended up getting knocked out by Anthony Joshua, but he made a substantial amount of money for his boxing matches with “The Gypsy King” and Joshua.

While Ngannou made career-high paydays after exiting the UFC, one former slugger thinks his aura took a big hit.

RELATED: ERIC NICKSICK REVEALS FRANCIS NGANNOU’S REACTION TO HIS UFC RETURN COMMENTS

Francis Ngannou’s Legacy in MMA ‘Forgotten’

During an edition of MMAFighting.com’s “The Fighter vs. The Writer,” Matt Brown weighed in on the rumors that Francis Ngannou is open to a UFC return. “The Immortal” believes Ngannou damaged his legacy in MMA after leaving the UFC.

“Legacy wise, he’s already forgotten in terms of the heavyweight division in MMA. Legacy wise, I think it damaged his legacy tremendously. Had he won those boxing matches, that would have obviously helped his legacy a [expletive] ton. For instance, after he fought Tyson Fury the first time, and a lot of us believe that he won, it was pretty close, debatable but I would argue he probably won. I don’t think anybody was arguing that it was a bad move at that point.”

Brown went as far as to say the two boxing matches “humanized” Ngannou. Ultimately, Brown feels Ngannou took the money at the expense of how he’s viewed within the MMA community.

“It was after he lost and now the UFC is like whatever bro, do your thing,” Brown said. “Now everybody is asking if it was a mistake. But he made more money in those two matches that he would have made fighting in the UFC for the next 10 years. Was it a mistake on that part? No, but his legacy is going to suffer. He’s not going to be in the talks for the best heavyweight ever, period.”

UFC CEO Dana White was recently asked if he would do business with Ngannou again. The UFC boss kept things brief and said it’s unlikely to happen.