Francis Ngannou has been warned his UFC heavyweight career could lose its "shine" if he continues his feud with the promotion.
The Cameroon star has an uncertain future in the sport after being tangled in a contract dilemma with just one fight remaining on his current deal.
He will defend his title against Cyril Gane at UFC 270 later this month which could be his final appearance after hinting at a switch to boxing.
But podcast host and former fighter Brendan Schaub has claimed that the UFC "controls the narrative" of his career and he could threaten his legacy unless a resolution is reached soon.
"There's nothing like two really, really good heavyweights," Schaub said during a recent episode of the The Schaub Show. "I think the narrative on this, Francis Ngannou has been in a different fight.
"Francis Ngannou has been in a fight with the UFC brass. Which is, whenever you're in a fight with the UFC brass you're never going to get the shine you deserve.
"Take a page out of [Tyron] Woodley's book, even the Diaz brothers man, whenever you get into a dispute with the UFC they control the narrative, unfortunately. And it's not like Francis Ngannou has a big podcast where he can go on and rip off what's going on.
"He'll do an interview with TMZ or an outlet or Marquel Martin, his agent at CAA, will do some interviews but those aren't going mainstream... The UFC controls the narrative and it's a bit of a shame."
Schaub referenced the Diaz brothers with Nate set to run down his contract with the UFC after his remaining two fights, and create a promotion of his own alongside his brother Nick.
Woodley ended his contract with the UFC after previously reigning as welterweight champion and has enjoyed bumper paydays in the boxing ring in his two defeats to YouTube star Jake Paul.
Ngannou could look to follow suit and make a switch to the boxing ring if a clause isn't inserted into his new contract allowing him to negotiate to compete in one-off fights elsewhere.
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His earnings have been compared with boxing's heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, with the 'Gypsy King' having earned £20million for a single fight against Deontay Wilder.
Whereas Ngannou earned just £400,000 for his rematch with Stipe Miocic and has even been forced to borrow money to pay for his living costs during inactivity.
Ngannou's manager has even claimed the UFC have not been in touch for over six-months with regards to an update on a new deal.
"At the end of the day, I work for Francis, and he and I spent a lot of time chatting back and forth and trying to understand, OK, exactly what does that mean for his future," Martin told Sirius XM.
"We’ve had a lot of back and forth with the UFC. But to be honest with you, I haven’t heard back from the UFC since, I want to say June.
"I’m not sure if they want to negotiate a contract before [it runs out] or whatnot, but that’s totally up to them."
