Francis Ngannou has signed an MMA-exclusive contract with the PFL.
The New York Times reports that the former UFC heavyweight champion – who never lost his championship – has entered an agreement with the PFL that will include equity and a role as the chairman of PFL Africa.
Ngannou tells the New York Times:
Let’s just say, all-in my deal with PFL is more than anyone else offered.,
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.
The deal with the PFL allows for Ngannou to explore his options in and is expected to debut with the PFL in mid-2024.
Ngannou became a free agent after his UFC contract last December and talks ceased with the organization and resulted in Ngannou being stripped of the UFC heavyweight championship, which is now held by Jon Jones.
Ngannou had been seeking the ability to control his own sponsorships, and advocated for health insurance for all fighters along with a fighter advocate to be present for UFC-related business, and these were not points the UFC was going to concede to retain Ngannou.
The 36-year-old entered the UFC after six professional fights and fought for the championship just over two years after his promotional debut. After coming up short against then-champion Stipe Miocic in January 2018 and a follow-up decision loss to Derrick Lewis, he won his next four fights in a combined 2 minutes and 40 seconds. It earned him a rematch with Miocic, who he knocked out at UFC 260 in March 2021 to become the UFC heavyweight champion. Ngannou fought more time for the promotion when he defeated Ciryl Gane by unanimous decision in January 2022 and entered the fight with a serious knee injury.
