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Fighting Francis Ngannou is a frighteningly daunting prospect, but he’s ensured the risk will be worth the financial reward for his rivals.
Ngannou will make his long-awaited mixed martial arts (MMA) return on Saturday when he faces towering Brazilian heavyweight Renan Ferreira in the main event of PFL’s Super Fights series.
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It will be Ngannou’s first fight for PFL since he signed with the promotion in May 2023 having boldly walked away from the UFC despite being their heavyweight champion.
Although Ngannou has never disclosed how large PFL’s offer was, the 38-year-old has stated it was more than any rival promotion stumped up.
But it’s not just Ngannou who will be handsomely compensated each time he steps into the PFL cage, with the Cameroonian confirming his opponent will receive a minimum payday of £1.5million ($2million).
Ferreria will be the first beneficiary of the seven-figure fee and lavished praise on Ngannou for negotiating it into his deal.
“I mean, I think it shows who he is and the priority he has,” Ferreira told Sportskeeda MMA.
“It’s great! I’m sure he understands what it takes to be at this level, to compete at this stage. So I commend him for that.”
Ensuring other fighters are well looked after was one of the key reasons why his negotiations to remain with the UFC broke down.
Ngannou wanted fighters to have rights over sponsorships and health insurance as well as having a presence on the company’s board to advocate in their best interests.
The UFC also offered Ngannou eye-watering sums for a three-fight contract in which he would have fought Jon Jones twice as well as Stipe Miocic.
But Ngannou opted to walk away and sign with the PFL instead, who also granted him permission to chase big-money boxing fights, something the UFC would not allow.
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Ngannou squeezed in two major boxing bouts between his final UFC bout and his PFL debut as he fought heavyweight superstars Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
The 38-year-old took on Fury in October last year and shocked the combat sports world when he knocked down The Gypsy King in the third round.
Ngannou was estimated to have earned £7.6m from the fight, which he lost in a split decision.
His performance against Fury landed him a bout with Joshua, which netted him £15.7m.
Sadly for Ngannou it proved to be a short night at the office as he was knocked out by Joshua in the second round.
Despite the devastating finish, Ngannou has claimed his boxing career is not done.