Professional Fighters League (PFL) was the only MMA promotion likely to sign ex-UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou after the UFC dropped him and Bellator, ONE and BKFC pulled out.
MMA and Boxing Contract For Ngannou
Ngannou and the PFL have confirmed that they have entered into an exclusive contract that will allow Ngannou to box under the PFL banner, fight in MMA and also become the new Chairman of Africa for the PFL.
Ngannou said that it was easy to sign with the PFL because they did not look at him as just an MMA fighter but as a partner who was bringing a lot to the table. Ngannou is expected to first box in the PFL in 2023 and then have his first PFL MMA fight in 2024.
One reason other MMA promotions did not want to sign Ngannou was because they felt he was making too many demands and wanted control over how an MMA promotion ran their operations. The PFL were willing to agree to Ngannou’s demands which is evidenced by the fact that they will now let him run PFL Africa’s operations as their new chairman!