Francis Ngannou Signs With PFL

PFL Lands Another Huge Star

PFL has been making headlines recently with signings of former UFC fighters and potential ‘new’ stars like Cedric Doumbe (4-0 MMA) former GLORY Kickboxing champion with over 75 wins.

PFL signed possibly its biggest star in Ngannou. Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) the former UFC Heavyweight champion hasn’t fought since UFC 270 in January 2022. Ngannou defeated Ciryl Gane in his first UFC title defense in the main event.

Dana White announced the release of Ngannou from the UFC in January, saying, “We’ve been working on a new agreement with Francis for like two years now. We had gotten to a point where he was going to fight Jon Jones. Jon Jones has been willing, ready, and able to fight anybody, he didn’t care who it was, it could’ve been anybody in the heavyweight division, he was ready to go. We offered Francis a deal that would’ve made him the highest-paid heavyweight in the history of the company more than Lesnar, more than anybody and he turned the deal down. I think Francis is in a place right now, he doesn’t want to take a lot of risk, feels like he’s in a good position where he can fight lesser opponents and make more money so we’re going to let him do that. We’re going to release him (Francis) from his contract, we’re going to give up our right to match, we’re going to let him go wherever he wants and do whatever he wants.” White made the announcement following the news of Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane for the vacant Heavyweight title.

Details of PFL Deal

Emmanuel Morgan of The New York Times broke the news earlier this morning. “The PFL is excited to announce its groundbreaking strategic partnership with Francis Ngannou, the greatest heavyweight fighter in the world,” PFL CEO- Peter Murray said in a statement. “Ngannou will anchor the PFL’s star-studded PPV Super Fight Division, serve on PFL’s Global Athlete Advisory Board, and will be a Chairman and equity owner in PFL Africa.” Ngannou is from Cameroon, a west-central African country so this surely means a lot to him, having advocated for a big event in Africa in the past. The PFL Super Fight Division was announced earlier this year when Jake Paul signed with the PFL.

.@jakepaul 🤝 @francis_ngannou pic.twitter.com/G2TyegoRe8

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 16, 2023

This deal certainly checked a lot of boxes for Ngannou. Ngannou has made it well known that the reason he couldn’t reach an agreement with the UFC was due to non-financial issues. Ngannou has advocated for better fighter treatment, sponsorships, healthcare, etc.

Ngannou is free to box outside of the PFL per reports of the details in his contract but is expected to make his PFL debut sometime next year in 2024. The exact pay and details haven’t been revealed in the deal but Ngannou did say the deal is worth more than the UFC’s offer which was $8 million to fight Jon Jones. This is truly a deal that can not only make or break Ngannou’s future but possibly PFL’s as well, as the contract gives Ngannou a lot of freedom.

I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man ♟️ pic.twitter.com/ED9wZY0Vz0

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) May 16, 2023

What do you make of the deal, was it a good decision for PFL and how do you think Ngannou makes out on the deal? Let us know in the comments below.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Images