Francis Ngannou doesn’t care what people think. The Cameroonian rapidly rose to prominence in the UFC, winning the heavyweight title. But left the promotion to join the PFL. Even there, he fought just once, becoming a champion by defeating Renan Ferreira, but that wasn’t significant enough to match the expectations people had of him. To top it all off, he went to boxing and lost twice to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Naturally, many criticized him for his run and claimed he ruined his legacy. But that’s not legacy to Ngannou! 

“[Legacy] like who?” Ngannou asked MMA Junkie’s reporter when asked about ruining his legacy. 

After the reporter named “Muhammad Ali,” Francis Ngannou went on a rant.

“Let me tell you [what] the legacy [is],” Ngannou said. “My legacy right now is my kids back home, with my family back home, getting healthcare, getting security, being able to put food on the table, being able to put a roof [over] their head. That’s a better legacy. You can have the Muhammad Ali legacy or whatever you want. If your kid cannot attend school, he has no place in society. 

“If your kid doesn’t have food in the stomach, that legacy doesn’t help you for anything. You cannot go to the store or to the gas station, or pay a school fee with a legacy. You have to understand that this is bulls—t that promotion tricks fighters with, and they’re all out there fighting for legacy. Good for you. Keep your legacy and give me my pay – what I deserve.”

‘The Predator’ might not be in the UFC anymore, but he’s proud of the money he’s made in his two boxing matches. He might have lost to Tyson Fury, but he reportedly pocketed a staggering $10 million from the fight. An even worse result may have followed in his boxing match against Anthony Joshua, but he made somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million. Suddenly, his decision to leave the UFC starts making sense, especially if you consider how much he made when he defeated Ciryl Gane in January 2022.

While appearing on the Pound 4 Pound podcast in 2024, Francis Ngannou revealed he was offered $2 million to defend his heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane. However, it meant the promotion would lock him down with a contract, taking away the freedom he wanted. So, he decided not to renew his contract, and because of that, he was paid a measly $600,000. And when he moved to PFL, he received all that freedom he was looking for and more. 

PFL didn’t just promise him eight figures for fighting, but also gave him equity in the company and made him the chairman of PFL Africa. He could also fight in boxing matches. While this deal didn’t go too well for the promotion, it worked wonders for Ngannou. After just one fight, he left the promotion recently, becoming a free agent.

Now, the former UFC heavyweight champion is facing Philipe Lins on the undercard of Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano on May 16, live on Netflix. And you can bet, he is making a lot of money even though the fight itself isn’t that great. What’s even more interesting, though, he could make a lot more after a recent call out. 

Jake Paul calls out Francis Ngannou for a fight

Jake Paul ignited tensions with Francis Ngannou as he called out the heavyweight for a fight during Tuesday’s kickoff press conference. During the press conference, Paul made it clear he would like to face the winner and used the moment to accuse Ngannou of previously avoiding him.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m down,” Paul said. “I’ve always been down. You were the option before Anthony Joshua, and you ran like a duck… You just know that you’d get worked in boxing.”

“I really didn’t want to fight you,” Ngannou responded. “But now I want to beat you. So, there’s a difference.” 

Before Jake Paul lost to Anthony Joshua last November, MVP had approached Ngannou for a fight. But ‘The Predator’ declined the offer, claiming it was disrespectful of Paul to think he would fight him. 

Francis Ngannou is clearly raking in the millions he had wanted, something he might not have been able to do in the UFC. But do you agree with him? Is ruining his legacy worth making a lot more money?