Francis Ngannou Debut Foe Will Be ‘More Exciting’ Than Current Speculation

The mixed martial arts community still has plenty of time to
speculate on who Francis
Ngannou will face when he makes his Professional Fighters
League debut.

The former UFC heavyweight champion signed with the PFL earlier
this month with plans to return to MMA sometime in 2024 after he
pursues a fight in professional boxing. While that has led to fans
looking at the league’s heavyweight roster and free agents outside
the UFC’s control, PFL founder Donn Davis is confident that
Ngannou’s first booking will exceed expectations.

“To me, what’s so fun here is the mystery box of candy and
everything is going to be good,” Davis said on The Spinning Backfist
MMA Show. “There’s been all kind of speculation, ranging from
the PFL season to [Fabricio] Werdum. I believe it will be something
else and bigger and more exciting than you’ve read so far. We have
nine months — nine months ago, people would have laughed if we said
Francis was gonna come to the PFL. So, if I speculated what we
would do now, people would equally go, ‘Poo-pa, that will never
happen,’ (laughs). But believe me, don’t discount our
resourcefulness, our creativity … who Francis will fight will be
more interesting than what is speculated on the internet
today.”

Ngannou has won his last six MMA bouts, including a five-round
verdict over Ciryl Gane
at UFC 270 in January 2022 — what turned out to be his final
Octagon appearance. The 36-year-old Cameroonian-born Frenchman

signed a deal with PFL that includes fights in the
organization’s pay-per-view division, a position as chairman with
PFL Africa and a spot on an advisory board representing fighter
interests. He also secured a $2 million payout for his PFL
opponents.

There has been plenty of debate as to whether Ngannou made the
right decision for his career, and also if the PFL is getting good
value with the contract. According to Davis, there are no losers
involved in this instance.

“Look, a lot of the internet is into winners and losers — whether
it’s football trades or the Francis
Ngannou deal. I view this as win, win, win,” he said. “This is
a great deal for Francis for all the reasons it’s discussed online
and social. This is a huge win for PFL, opens our pay-per-view
division, we got Francis and Jake [Paul] as headliners in 2024.
Probably the two most exciting fights you could ever have other
than Conor [McGregor], who’s still a sensation. It brings a huge
audience draw to our media product, it is gonna bring in other
fighters you’ve seen see the way to another great platform in the
PFL.”