After months of leaving the UFC, Francis Ngannou has finally signed a deal with rival promotion, the PFL. ‘The Predator’ found it hard to strike a deal with major MMA promotions like Bellator and ONE Championship. But the PFL deal has given him pretty much everything he wanted as per reports by The New York Times.

Francis Ngannou found himself without a promotion for a considerable amount of time after leaving Dana White‘s company. UFC legend Chael Sonnen even urged the French-Cameroonian fighter to return to the UFC. But his highly publicized contract dispute with the UFC made Dana White state that the heavyweight will never return to the world’s biggest MMA promotion.

Francis Ngannou had a hard time coming to terms with various promotions

One of the primary reasons behind Ngannou’s departure from the UFC was the freedom to participate in boxing fights. He wanted to face Tyson Fury, but Dana White wasn’t interested in that idea. This led to a huge disagreement between both parties and the former UFC champion was shown the door by the promotion.

There were talks about Scott Coker, CEO of Bellator MMA, presenting an attractive deal to the former UFC champion. But nothing came to fruition. Chael Sonnen shared a tweet where he mentioned that the Bellator brass never offered any deal to Francis Ngannou. Moreover, when talks began with ONE Championship, there were a lot of disagreements. This led to the promotion withdrawing from their pursuit of Francis Ngannou. This created a lot of fuss regarding the uncertainty of his MMA future. But he shared a cryptic tweet regarding his next move.

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Details on Ngannou’s PFL deal

‘The American Gangster’ gave the initial hint about ‘The Predator’s PFL move on Twitter. But now, as combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani tweeted out, The NY Times confirmed that both the PFL and Francis Ngannou have come to terms with a deal. As per the report, the former UFC champion has gotten his wish to engage in boxing fights after acquiring a “strategic partnership” with the promotion.

The PFL deal has given Francis Ngannou equity in the promotion and leadership roles to an extent. He will be fighting in the nascent ‘Superfight’ division, which will also feature YouTuber-tuned-prized fighter, Jake Paul. The PFL will let ‘The Predator’ pursue his boxing plans, even though his contract is strictly an MMA-only agreement. There is no word on his first PFL opponent, but he is planning his first MMA fight on the promotion in 2024.

With the deal in place, Ngannou will most likely make millions as he will be able to earn 50% of the PPV.

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In addition to the above details regarding the contract, Francis Ngannou will also serve as the chairman of PFL’s expansion in Africa, which is slated to take effect in 2024. He will serve on the promotion’s advisory board to take care of the interests of the fighters on the roster.

It will be interesting to see how the former UFC champion fares in the PFL after months of speculation about his MMA future. It is certain that Francis Ngannou’s inclusion in the promotion will bring a lot more eyes than it had before.

What do you think about Ngannou’s PFL move? Drop your comments below.

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