Francis Ngannou Signs with Professional Fighters League

After months of speculation, MMA’s biggest free agent has
landed.

Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced on
Tuesday that former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight
champion Francis
Ngannou has signed a mixed martial arts deal to fight in its
Superfight Division. The news was first reported by the New York
Times.

PFL’s Superfight Division, which also includes celebrity boxer
Jake
Paul, will pay its fighters a 50% share of revenue generated by
their fights. According to the NYT article, Ngannou will not fight
for the promotion until 2024 because it is expected that he will
first compete in a boxing match this year. It is yet to be
determined whether his opponent will be Tyson Fury,
who has publicly embraced the idea of a bout with the former UFC
champ, or someone else. Full terms of the deal have not been
disclosed but Ngannou stated, “Let’s just say, all-in my deal with
PFL is more than anyone else offered.” In addition to his pay,
Ngannou will also become chairman of PFL Africa and serve on the
advisory board representing fighter interests, according to the New
York Times article.

Ngannou (17-3) made headlines last year when he left the UFC as a
sitting heavyweight champion after he and the promotion failed to
come to terms after months of negotiations. The 36-year-old
Cameroonian-born Frenchman last fought on Jan. 22, 2022, unifying
his lineal UFC belt against interim champ Ciryl Gane
by unanimous decision at UFC 270. His negotiations with the UFC,
and then with virtually every other major mixed martial arts
promotion, have been among the biggest stories in MMA over the past
year, as rumors flew of his impending signing with organizations
such as PFL, Bellator MMA and One Championship.

“The past few months have been a very interesting time to
understand and see the landscape but I’m very excited about this
deal with the PFL because they basically showed what I was
expecting,” Ngannou told the New York Times. “They didn’t just show
up as a promotion that was looking for a fighter, but really came
as a partner that sees more value in you as a person.”