One of the main reasons Francis Ngannou left the UFC was a dispute over fighter pay and the UFC’s refusal to let him box. The UFC, which has long been accused of underpaying its fighters saw, for the first time in its history, a current champion leave the promotion.

And when Ngannou left the UFC early last year without a contract in hand, not much was expected of him. Contrary to expectations, however, he was able to secure a lucrative and favorable contract with the PFL soon, which did allow him to box. The Cameroonian, of course, went on to fight Tyson Fury in a mega-fight last year where he put on a spectacular performance. His fight against former unified champion Anthony Joshua last night, however, was a disaster.

But, former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson reminded fans of one very important fact.

‘Rampage’ Jackson reminds everyone Francis Ngannou got paid $20 million

Francis Ngannou was knocked out cold by Anthony Joshua in the first round of their ten-round boxing match last night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their fight was supposed to be the no. 1 title contender bout to see who would fight the winner of the upcoming Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk undisputed bout.

Ngannou was on the cusp of becoming the greatest martial artist in history who held the UFC heavyweight title and also fought for boxing’s undisputed heavyweight crown. Alas, this was not to be, as Joshua managed to knock out The Predator cold for the first time in the Cameroonian’s combat sports career.

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However, Ngannou, who used to work in the sand mines of Cameroon as a child, and had to walk across Africa and cross a sea to get to Europe to pursue his dream of becoming a fighter still came out on top last night. And, as ‘Rampage’ Jackson reminded everyone, ‘The Predator’ made $20 million dollars from his Joshua fight despite the loss.

For reference, Ngannou reportedly made only $600,000 for his last fight in the UFC when he was champion of the Dana White–led promotion. “At least Francis made 20 mil😞” Jackson tweeted. And with his boxing stint seemingly hitting a brick wall, it seems Ngannou will be back in the octagon for the foreseeable future.

Ngannou to face Renan Ferreira in the PFL

After PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira defeated Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader at their PFL vs. Bellator mega-card last month, Francis Ngannou has confirmed that he will be fighting the winner of Fer in his first PFL appearance.

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Ngannou last fought in the cage two years ago, when he successfully defended his heavyweight title against Cyril Gane at UFC 270. Earlier, fans had speculated that the former UFC champion may move full-time to boxing given the astronomical payouts in the sport. However, ‘The Predator’ has confirmed that he will be back in the octagon sometime this year.

Not to mention Ngannou’s devastating loss to Josuha has seriously hurt his stocks and may no longer be seen as a serious contender in boxing’s heavyweight division, at least for now. What do you think Ngannou should do next?

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