Francis Ngannou (UFC Record-17-3-0), the former UFC heavyweight champion, made headlines at the beginning of this year. It was the time when the 37-year-old fighter took his exit from the largest MMA promotion company.
Ngannou who’s also known as ‘The Predator’ was not satisfied with the new UFC contract he was supposed to sign. His last contract expired in the middle of December 2022. It was rumored that there was some contract dispute between him and the UFC. It ultimately led the Cameroon-born to part ways with the UFC, leaving fans in shock.
After his departure, later this year, the 6ft 4in fighter signed a deal with PFL. At first, a lot of fans wondered why he chose PFL over UFC, however, now it seems one of the reasons could be the financial aspect.
Recently, Francis Ngannou, who’s scheduled to make his PFL debut next year, revealed an unexpected piece of information. In an interview, he confessed he’ll be getting a huge sum of money for his PFL debut. In addition to this, ‘The Predator‘ also claimed that the money he’s set to receive might be two or even three times greater than what he had earned throughout his UFC career.
He asserted, “Let’s just say this is the beginning of my career… [The money] is different. A lot different… If I combine all my salary that I have made in MMA, it could maybe be half of what I’m going to make in my next MMA fight. Let’s not even go to boxing, let’s stay on MMA. I’m speaking for myself… For me, it’s a huge difference.”
After this revelation, fans are looking forward to knowing the authenticity of his statement. It is because the UFC is more popular than the PFL. However, fans need to note that even boxers tend to receive higher pay compared to MMA fighters.
Dana White turns down the UFC contract renewal of Francis Ngannou
Francis Ngannou recently visited UFC commentator Joe Rogan’s podcast ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’. During the conversation, the Cameroon-born fighter delved into topics like his PFL contract, upcoming fight with Tyson Fury (Boxing record- 33-0-1), and the sudden UFC exit.
Ngannou, 257lb, when asked about his shocking decision to relinquish his heavyweight title asserted that it was the current UFC CEO Dana White who refused to renew Ngannou’s contract as per his demands.
He stated, “I don’t know, I try everything, I feel like I wasn’t in the right place…they came with a new deal…they say no, no new deal for Francis, there’s no fight on his contract…let’s let’s talk about a new deal for Francis another time.”
To those who are unaware, Francis Ngannou last fought with Ciryl Gane (UFC Record- 12-2-0) back in January 2022 to defend his heavyweight title. However, it was then he suffered a knee injury and took a break.
For now, fans only await to know his confirmed PFL payscale. How much do you think Ngannou will be getting for his debut? Comment down your opinion.
