Category: PFL

Video: Is Francis Ngannou’s PFL deal a game changer for MMA?

There’s never been a fighter contract in the history of mixed martial arts like Francis Ngannou’s deal with the PFL.

Former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] officially ended his free agency after signing a landmark contract with the PFL last week.

The deal will pay him an undisclosed minimum purse for his MMA fights, gives him the freedom to pursue boxing, appoints him in a leadership role as the head of PFL Africa, and more. Simply put, there’s never been a fighter contract like this in the history of mixed martial arts.

The deal garnered plenty of praise from fighters, as well as criticism from fans. And not surprisingly, UFC president Dana White put his own negative spin on the deal, which got a response from Ngannou.

Is this a game-changing deal and just how much of game changer is it?

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Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and Brian “Goze” Garcia weighed in with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.

Spinning Back Clique: Thoughts on Ngannou to PFL, UFC big fight bonanza, McGregor update, more

Watch this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” breaking down Francis Ngannou landmark PFL deal, the UFC’s big fight bonanza, and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week’s panel of Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and Brian “Goze” Garcia will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:

  • Former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] officially ended his free agency after signing a landmark deal with the PFL that will pay him an undisclosed minimum purse, the freedom to pursue boxing, a leadership role as the head of PFL Africa, and more. There’s never been a fighter contract like this in the history of mixed martial arts. Is this a game-changing deal and just how much of game changer is it?
  • On the same day of the Ngannou signing, the UFC announced a bonanza of big fights that will take place this summer at UFC 291 and UFC 292. First at UFC 291 on July 29 in Salt Lake City, [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] and [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] will rematch for the “BMF” title in the night’s headliner; the man card also includes [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]’s light heavyweight debut vs. [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] in the co-headliner, Paulo Costa’s return vs. Ikram Aliskerov, Tony Ferguson vs. Bobby Green, and Michael Chiesa vs. Kevin Holland. Then at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 in Boston, two title fights will headline as bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag], and strawweight champ [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] meets [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]. Which of these fights stands out most?
  • According to [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the former UFC champ-champ is expected to join the drug testing pool any day now (“immediately”), which would clear the way for his return before the end of the year to fight fellow “TUF 31” coach Michael Chandler. What should be the stakes for the matchup?
  • Another Sterling fight booking, another set of questions after the 135-pound champ cast some doubt about competing Aug. 19 at UFC 292, saying he agreed verbally but his “body has to agree.” In response, UFC president [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] said Sterling “can’t get out of his own way” but assured he will fight, and O’Malley said he’ll fight whoever they put in front of him, which leads you to believe an interim title situation could arise if Sterling doesn’t make it. Does Sterling vs. O’Malley feel forced at this point compared to other champions who had more time between fights?
  • [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] was very active on social media last week, not only throwing shade at Ngannou after his PFL deal was announced but also engaging in a back-and-forth with boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and issuing a (silly) challenge of sorts. What do you make of Jones’ overall vibe from last week?

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.

Dana White says Francis Ngannou’s PFL signing makes no sense: ‘I know how this story ends’

UFC president Dana White had a lot to say about Francis Ngannou’s recent signing with PFL.

LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White had a lot to say Saturday following UFC Fight Night 224 as he publicly reacted for the first time to news of [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] signing with PFL.

While White did not specifically address the finances involved with the deal, as he cited lack of knowledge, the UFC president questioned how the move makes sense for Ngannou, the promotion, and its viewers.

“Based on what I know about the deal, which is not much, it makes no sense to me,” White said. “You’re going to pay the guy not to fight for a year and it’s already been like 18 months. He’s fought three times in the last three years. It’s just not what we do here. It’s not what we do. The day that we released him, I knew exactly what was going to happen.”

Ngannou departed the UFC in January following the conclusion of his promotional agreement and spent recent months meeting with a handful of combat sports promotions including PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship.

In the weeks that followed Ngannou’s departure and the vacant title fight between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 on March 4, White accused Ngannou of not wanting to fight Jones because of what he deemed the bout’s likely outcome.

Saturday, White reiterated these comments in reference to the PFL deal, while also attempting to clarify them.

“I don’t think that he’s afraid of anybody,” White said. “It’s just the fact that he doesn’t want to take any risk. PFL is going to pay this guy to train for a boxing match that may not even happen and they may not even be involved in. How does that make any sense? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

According to reporter John Nash, details of Ngannou’s contract include that it is for two or three fights, guarantees a “high seven-figure purse” for each, gives him the right to have his own sponsors in the cage, and mandates his opponent will receive $2 million to fight him. The boxing terms of his deal are non-exclusive.

In terms of the boxing component, White cast doubt on Ngannou’s pursuit of a lucrative boxing crossover, despite an MMA vs. boxer match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather, which he co-promoted in 2017, being one of the top-grossing combat sports fights of all time. There isn’t a comparable option, said White.

“That’s one of the big problems with boxing right now,” White said. “It’s all about these gimmicky-type fights. That’s just not what I do here. That’s just not what I do. I put on fights with the best fighters in the world and the fighters people want to see. Francis could’ve done a deal here. Hunter (Campbell) threw the kitchen sink at that guy. Hunter went to more dinners with Francis Ngannou and did everything in his power to get this fight done.

“Francis just thinks he’s in a position where he’s got some sort of Conor McGregor-Mayweather fight on his hands, which he does not. That fight was like a once-in-a-lifetime-type deal, a fight that I wasn’t very interested in. But at the end of the day, it became so big: the right guys, the right time, the right place, the fans wanted it. So we did it and we got it done. MMA guys vs. boxers doesn’t make any sense to me. But I know he thinks there’s all this money in it. I disagree. I don’t think there is.”

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White verbally scratched his head about the direction of PFL, a competing organization that has spent millions signing the likes of Francis Ngannou and Jake Paul in recent months. He also scoffed at the promotion’s potential business decisions as he discussed the circulating rumors of PFL purchasing long-time UFC competitor Bellator.

“I have no beef with the PFL,” White said. “These guys have always been super professional and never talked any smack. You know me. If I don’t like you whether it’s (Oscar) De Lay Hoya or another organization out there whoever it is, I don’t hold back. I let you have it. What they’re doing makes no sense to me, their business strategy. I’m hearing that they’re raising money right now, $280 million, $300 million, I don’t know what the number is, from the Middle East. I’ve done a lot of business in the Middle East. Those guys are sharp. I don’t know who in the hell would give them $280 million.

“Because I hear they’re buying Bellator, right? If you’re an organization that’s burning cash, have no ratings, and selling no tickets, and are going to raise $280 million to buy a company that’s burning cash, sells no tickets, and does no ratings, it sounds absolutely f*cking genius to me. I know how this story ends.”

White wished the parties involved well, but also made a departing point. He brought up Ngannou’s plans to wait until 2024 to compete under the PFL banner.

“He signs with this company and he’s not even willing to fight their champions right now,” White said. “He’s fought three times in the last three years and it’s been like 18 months since he’s fought. From what I’m hearing, he’s not going to fight for another year. … I think their last champion or maybe their current champion (Ante Delija), lost to Tybura. Then, the champion now (Bruno Cappelozza) lost to Jiri Prochazka, who isn’t even a heavyweight. Francis doesn’t want to fight these two guys now. Am I the only one who thinks this whole thing is just a bunch of bullsh*t? That’s my two cents.”

Ngannou, 36, has not competed since January 2022. Since his departure from the UFC, Ngannou has advocated to fighter treatment, policies, and pay as the reason for his departure and signing with PFL.

“It was easy,” Ngannou told DAZN. “I think it was the easiest choice made because from Day 1 that I talked to them, I understand their vision, their global vision, their vision for the sport.

To listen to White’s comments in full. Watch the video above.

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Aspen Ladd knows she ‘can’t BS any slow start’ vs. Karolina Sobek at 2023 PFL 5

With zero points in the women’s featherweight standings, Aspen Ladd intends on fighting with urgency in her second PFL fight of the season.

[autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] is behind the 8 ball, and she knows it, which is why her mindset heading into her next fight is slightly different.

Ladd (10-4) takes on Karolina Sobek (4-1) in her second women’s featherweight bout of the season at 2023 PFL 5 on June 16 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. Both fighters enter the matchup under less-than-ideal circumstances after losing their season openers this past April at PFL 2.

Ten weeks later and with zero points in the standings, it’ll take a first-round finish worth six points for Ladd to assure herself a spot in the playoffs. A second-round finish (five points) likely would also do the trick. Winning a decision isn’t something she can afford to risk.

Pressure, you say? Ladd admits she’s feeling it, but it doesn’t bother her much.

“Definitely, especially going into this one,” Ladd told MMA Junkie Radio. “I need as many points as possible. Going into it, it’s basically trying to treat it like a 5-minute fight.”

She continued, “Any fight I’ve been in is pressure. It’s a different type of pressure with the points system and how much rides on this next one, so there’s definitely that. Can’t BS any slow start this time.”

That’s what happened in Ladd’s majority decision loss to Olena Kolesnyk. Ladd struggled in the early rounds and didn’t get going until Round 3, which she dominated. By that point, it was too little too late.

Ladd said that won’t be the case this time.

“More urgency,” Ladd said of what she needs vs. Sobek. “I started too slow. I went back and watched it, and there’s certain things that I wasn’t doing on my takedowns. I was getting in just fine, but I was transitioning out way too soon. …

“It’s all me. It’s in the head, it’s in the mindset, not overthinking things. It’s really just that – not overthinking it, just going in and performing.”

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One thing Ladd likes about matching up with Sobek is that she, too, should feel the same urgency given she also needs maximum points to advance.

“I hope so,” Ladd said. “It sucks when you have opponents that don’t necessarily want to engage. The most entertaining types of fights and most fun to be in are when you go out there and you both want it.”

For more on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL 5.

Jon Jones crashed an interview to take a childish dig at Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou signing with the PFL has brought out the worst in UFC champ Jon Jones.

[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] went two weeks without tweeting but then [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag]’s groundbreaking new contract with the PFL was announced Tuesday, and he got all mad about it.

Ever since then, it’s been bad take after bad take from the UFC heavyweight champion, who went from being glad that Ngannou “knows his worth” to …

THIS:

Who does that? The lineal heavyweight champion who never lost his title. I don’t recall Jones ever giving Daniel Cormier credit for being the “real” UFC light heavyweight champ without ever beating him. Same energy, no?

THIS:

Except the Super Bowl winning quarterback would get a fat contract from either his own team or another one in free agency without ever thinking about leaving the NFL to get paid his worth. Doesn’t Jones have brothers in the NFL who can teach him about this?

AND THIS:

What I notice is Jones took three years off when he could’ve fought Ngannou at any point while he was still under UFC contract during that time, but I digress.

As bad as those Twitter takes were, there was more.

Later in the week, Jones apparently was in the room while his teammate and training partner Maurice Greene did an interview with MMA Mania. And once he heard Ngannou’s name mentioned during a question, Jones couldn’t help himself and crashed the interview to take a dig at him.

“Francis is a p*ssy and always gon’ be a p*ssy,” Jones said. “With all that muscle.”

How silly – and childish, really. But I suppose that’s what we should come to expect from Jon Jones at 35: the same level of maturity he had at 25.

The situation isn’t hard to understand: Ngannou vs. Jones isn’t happening because Ngannou “is a p*ssy.” The fight isn’t happening because Ngannou possessed the self-dignity to stand up for himself against the UFC in a way that no fighter ever has. Without locking him up to a long-term restrictive contract, the UFC wasn’t going to make the fight. Ngannou said no thank you and received his worth elsewhere.

It’s that simple.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, that’s on you.

5 realistic opponent options for Francis Ngannou in PFL

Who will Francis Ngannou fight in the PFL? Here are five realistic opponent options.

[autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag]’s free agency, at least in MMA, came to an end this week. Now that PFL is his new home after signing a groundbreaking deal, many are wondering what kind of competition Ngannou will face in the cage.

Ngannou’s PFL debut likely won’t happen until mid-2024, and there could be heavyweights in other promotions looking to fight out their contracts to get a piece of Ngannou sometime next year.

With that in mind, here are five realistic options for the former UFC heavyweight champion, ranked based on interest.

Israel Adesanya: Francis Ngannou’s ‘big f*cking move’ to PFL will cause ‘a ripple that forces change’

Israel Adesanya believes Francis Ngannou’s move to PFL will have an impact on the UFC and other organizations.

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] believes [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag]’s move to PFL will have an impact on other organizations.

Ngannou parted ways with the UFC after asking for multiple requirements that weren’t met for a new deal. PFL granted Ngannou those requests, which gave him equity and a leadership role within the promotion, as well as the flexibility to do boxing.

Adesanya is excited for his good friend and fellow African fighter, but he specifically didn’t like the way ONE Championship portrayed the negotiations. CEO Chatri Sityodtong said ONE withdrew from the running, which Ngannou later revealed was not true.

“Stoked,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “What I didn’t like, I’ll say, is f*cking what ONE did. Francis put it out to them first, ‘This is the offer I have on the table. Can you match this?’ They couldn’t match it and then they put out that statement saying, ‘We are withdrawing,’ and everyone tried to harp on about it. I just thought that was shady. They didn’t have to do that.”

Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, will also serve on the PFL advisory board to represent fighter interests and has negotiated an undisclosed minimum purse for his fights, as well as a minimum of $2 million for his opponents.

“It’s good news. It’s good for the game, I think,” Adesanya said. “What I really liked is how his opponent is guaranteed a million. That’s cool. What he’s doing with PFL Africa … you can see the potential already. PFL Africa, and Francis has a seat at the board, or at the table.

“This thing about his opponent is guaranteed a million, how many fighters are gonna be like, ‘Right, I need to get to the PFL. I wanna fight Francis,’ because now Francis is the guy, the money fight. That’s another twist on it that I like.”

Adesanya expects Ngannou’s new deal to affect the UFC in some shape or form – whether now or in the long run.

“I think the UFC, they’re not dumb,” Adesanya said. “They’ll take notice. They know how to adapt, and when something like this happens in another field, it creates a big ripple in the game, and a big enough ripple can force the UFC to change the way – even like a small change.”

“… This is a big f*cking move,” Adesanya continued. “It causes a ripple that forces change.”

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Eric Nicksick admits he was ‘pretty depressed’ when Francis Ngannou-Jon Jones fight fell through

Eric Nicksick would have loved to help Francis Ngannou prepare for Jon Jones.

Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick would have loved to help [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] prepare for [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag].

Ngannou and Jones were on a collision course, only thrown off by Ngannou’s contract negotiations with the UFC when the two sides couldn’t come to terms on a new deal.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou has now signed with the PFL, and the chance of a fight with current champ Jones is all but dashed – which initially had Nicksick bummed out.

“To be honest with you guys, in the very beginning, it was stressful,” Nicksick told Submission Radio. “And I think it let me down in a lot of ways, just because I always had this vision of us fighting Jon Jones, and that was what was always on the table for us. And I’m speaking from a coach and a competitor (standpoint). I wanted the opportunity to be able to go and compete against arguably the best to ever do it, in my opinion, the best to ever do it in Jon Jones.

“And that was merely my only heartbreak in the whole situation, was just the competitiveness in me. I wanted a crack at it, man. I wanted to try to put a game plan together with my best athlete and go and beat this guy who I think is the greatest ever do it. So, there was a time there, to be honest with you guys, I was pretty depressed. But it had to do with more of like, man, we’ve done four years of just grueling work in the room, and now we’re not gonna be able to show it against the guy who would be the one to cement your legacy, if you will.”

After Ngannou relinquished his belt, Jones claimed it by running through Ciryl Gane in the first round at UFC 285. Jones is considered by many to be the greatest fighter of all time, and Nicksick knows beating him would have done wonders for Ngannou’s career.

“The Jon Jones fight, as far as the combat sports side of things, that will always cement anyone’s legacy if you’re able to beat him. Right? Like, that’s the one,” Nicksick said. “But there’s other avenues I think that you can cement a different type of legacy, and I think that’s the path that Francis went on.”

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Ngannou’s move to PFL was about far more than just fighting. When securing his new deal, Ngannou was able to get equity and a leadership role within the promotion, as well as the flexibility to box. He will also serve on the PFL advisory board to represent fighter interests and has negotiated an undisclosed minimum purse for his fights, as well as a minimum of $2 million for his opponents.

“To be quite honest with you, I love Jon,” Nicksick said. “I do, man. I appreciate him. I love what he’s doing. He’s keeping things in the media and keeping things rolling. That’s fine. I hope that he does understand, like, really, what Francis did will ultimately benefit and have a chain reaction for other fighters down the line. And he’s fighting for fighters’ rights. He’s doing all the things that he feels that moves him.

“And in the past, what happened is, guys had that same identity or that same ideologies as what they were trying to accomplish. And to UFC’s credit, they just threw money at it. They were like, ‘Here, but, well, you can’t do that, but here’s more money.’ Right? And then it just went away. It just went away. So, no one ever had to deal with that kind of thing. So, it’s definitely a new precedence, I think, that Francis is able to set. And like you guys said, maybe in time more and more guys like Jon will truly appreciate what Francis was trying to do.”

Coach Eric Nicksick puzzled to see so many Francis Ngannou haters: ‘Why not cheer for people?’

Hate all you want, but the bottom line for Francis Ngannou’s coach is that his PFL deal “set a huge standard” for MMA free agency.

Fighters, pundits, promoters, and fans all took their shots at [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] as the former UFC heavyweight champion explored free agency following his departure from the UFC. That’s something that Ngannou’s head coach, [autotag]Eric Nicksick[/autotag], doesn’t understand.

Nicksick was puzzled and sad to see the negative comments thrown Ngannou’s way as he looked to find an alternative to the UFC that fit him better. Now that Ngannou signed a lucrative PFL contract, Nicksick questions why so many chose to tear down Ngannou instead of rooting for him to succeed.

“The thing that I was most disappointed about, and this is kind of where our society is today, is that people cheer for failure,” Nicksick said on “Morning Kombat.” “They want to see people fail for no reason whatsoever. And I remind people, I even tweeted at someone, ‘Success isn’t finite. It’s infinite, and there’s enough to go around for everyone.’ You don’t go to the store and say, ‘Hey, we’re fresh out of success. Sorry, you can’t have anymore.’ It’s there for everybody. Why not cheer for people? Why not welcome that into your own heart and your own life and hope that people make the money that they deserve or get that success or find that value they feel that they’re worth?

“I was disappointed to see some of that stuff, because it really has no effect on them whatsoever. It doesn’t matter. You’re just on the same sh*t. So for Francis to go through all that and just really brush it off, from what I saw, he didn’t care about anything to be honest with you.”

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Ngannou turned down a UFC contract that, according to UFC president Dana White, would’ve made him the highest paid heavyweight in UFC history.

The gamble did pay off for Ngannou as he now has a multi-million dollar contract and the freedom that he was looking for. Nicksick believes this is a great example for fighters unhappy with their perceived value by a promoter.

“I think it’s ground breaking for this generation of combat sports,” Nicksick said. “He really bucked the trend. He broke the mold and stepped outside the comfort zone. Most people are moved by money. Obviously money plays a factor, but it’s more his worth. … I think that it’s going to open the eyes of other people in this sport and see what their worth might be, whether it’s in the UFC or outside that organization. He set a huge standard.”

Now with PFL, Francis Ngannou gives update on boxing debut: ‘My goal is to have a tune-up fight’

Francis Ngannou provides an update on his boxing plans.

[autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] has found a new home with the PFL, but that won’t cover his plans to start a boxing career.

On Tuesday, the PFL revealed it signed Ngannou to a multi-fight deal, but that it won’t be exclusive to boxing. With Ngannou very vocal and public with his desire to step in the ring, many are now left to wonder what will happen with the former UFC heavyweight champion’s boxing plans.

When recently speaking with DAZN, Ngannou gave an update of his boxing plans.

“Boxing is still on the table,” Ngannou said. “I always dreamed of getting Tyson Fury, but he’s not quite available right now. Even Deontay Wilder, both of our teams have gone back and forth, but we didn’t get there because of a potential fight against A.J. (Anthony Joshua) in December, but we’re still aligned in a potential fight after that.

“My goal is to have a tuneup fight this year, at least one before next year. That’s the vision for boxing. My team engaged some discussion with Floyd’s Money Team promotion regarding boxing, and we’re going to see about that, but we’re definitely coming out with a plan, and we’re coming out with something very soon.”

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Ngannou said his interest in opponents still remain the same as they did a few months ago. He has his sight set on the biggest draws in the heavyweight division.

“It’s been Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Deontay Wilder, and so far we only had conversations with Deontay Wilder, but Anthony Joshua is a fight we had liked too,” Ngannou said. “We talked to Eddie (Hearn) once, but that’s when Joshua was about to fight (Jermaine) Franklin, but it’s something that interest me, and I think if we do this in Africa, it’s going to be massive.

“And also, I have to point out the fact that even when we were talking to Deontay Wilder, it was a two-fight deal – one somewhere else and one in Africa. One should have been in Africa, so it’s the same thing we had with Anthony Joshua. I think it’s something that gets them excited too, to fight in the continent.”

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