Francis Ngannou, a former heavyweight champion of the UFC who is currently a free agent, could move on to the PFL.
The former heavyweight champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and the Las Vegas-based MMA promotion did not reach an agreement on a new contract and split connection with the company earlier this year.
Dan Hardy, who serves as the head of European fighter relations for the Professional Fighting League (PFL), recently gave an interview to MiddleEasy in which he stated that he is “almost certain” that Francis Ngannou will sign with the promotion in the not too distant future.
“We’ll have Francis Ngannou in no time coming over and fighting for it,” Hardy told Middle Easy. “I just feel it in my bones. I know he’s coming. I just know he’s coming. I can just feel it. It makes sense. His demands for the UFC is exactly what the PFL are offering.”
“Everything that he was asking for from the UFC, it’s already on the table over here as long as the money’s on the table alongside to match the heavyweight king’s purse, then I think you’ll be happy and I think we can certainly do that for him,” Hardy continued.
Ngannou, who is 36 years old, was looking for a significant pay raise in addition to a contract condition that would allow him to battle as a professional boxer in the time between his MMA bouts. This is something that the PFL has provided for other top stars in the past. Both Bellator MMA and BKFC have expressed an interest in potentially collaborating with “The Predator.”
Because he is keeping his plans for the future under wraps, everyone throughout the world is curious about what “The Predator” will do next. However, he gave a hint about his next move as quoted below.
“I have made a decision,” Ngannou told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour on Wednesday. “Without making a done deal, I know what my next move is going to be. I know that I want to fight boxing first and then after that I will fight MMA. I’m going to sign with one MMA promotion. I haven’t made a decision on that yet, [but I’m] very close….
“PFL and ONE FC right now, we are very close. We will see.”