Published on : 16/05/2023 – 14:18
Cameroonian Francis Ngannou, former heavyweight champion of the UFC, signed on Tuesday with the PFL, a competing American organization, allowing him, according to this league, to fight in English boxing, as he wished, and in martial arts mixed, his favorite discipline.
Four months ago, Ngannou, 36, then holder of the heavyweight belt, quit the UFC, the most powerful league in MMA, with a bang, amid disagreement over his compensation and that of other fighters in the organization. . He seems to have obtained the guarantees he wanted within the PFL (acronym for Professional Fighters League, editor’s note), a more confidential organization, but which has multiplied blows of brilliance and media stunts in recent weeks to emerge in the landscape of the different MMA leagues.
With the PFL, Ngannou will, according to the New York Times, participate in a boxing match in 2023, and will return to fight in MMA in his new league in 2024.
« The most expensive and important signing in MMA history »
He also became a member of the organization’s Advisory Board to represent the interests of fighters, and president of its Africa branch with the mission of detecting new fighters and organizing events in 2025 on the continent.
Neither the duration nor the amount of the contract have been revealed by Ngannou or the PFL, but ” all inclusive in my PFL deal is more than any other deal said Ngannou quoted by the New York Times. The PFL boasted on their Instagram account of having concluded ” the most expensive and most important signing in MMA history ».
In addition to Ngannou, the PFL has announced other renowned signings in recent weeks with that of influencer and fighter Jake Paul, French fighter Cédric Doumbé, while former Olympic judo champion Kayla Harrison is for the figurehead.
None of Ngannou’s next fights have yet been set.
(With AFP)
