Ngannou’s PFL Debut Will Be Soon – ‘There Have Been Discussions’

Ray Sefo, known as the PFL President of Fighter Operations, has indicated that Francis Ngannou’s debut will be soon.

Ngannou left the UFC last year after contract talks broke down. Reports indicated that he rejected an $8 million offer because it would reduce his ability as an independent contractor. He would walk away on bad terms, with Dana White saying he would never work with him again. Ngannou would then sign a deal with the PFL. The deal allowed him the chance to have boxing bouts.

He took this up when he faced Tyson Fury last year on his debut. Despite losing a split decision, he dropped Fury in the third round, which was the highlight of the fight. Some felt he had done enough to be given the decision. His second bout was far less impressive. He took on Anthony Joshua but was knocked out in the second round.

Ngannou’s Future

Those two fights earned Ngannou more than he ever had done in his UFC career, justifying his decision to leave. He has also been named as the Chairman of PFL Africa. The organization will launch next year, with the best African fighters competing against each other. And yet, Ngannou’s PFL debut appears uncertain. PFL Chairman Donn Davis hinted that Ngannou could make his debut this summer.

“Will it be as early as July? Maybe. Will it be as late as September? No later. But you’ll see Francis now in 2024, in PFL, against ‘La Problemo’ [Renan Ferreira] in what I believe is going to be the fight I’m looking forward to the most in the heavyweight division of all of MMA. That will be a pay-per-view fight. That [event] will also have Cris Cyborg against Larissa Pacheco as the co-main fight.

“That [card] will also have Cedric Doumbe against somebody we’ll announce. So that [fight card] is going to be big just because of Francis, but that fight [card] will have other very compelling matchups on it. That fight card will take place in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, but the details in terms of the full card, the details in terms of the month and the timing, we won’t announce that for about two more months,” Davis said.

Ngannou’s Next Fight

But his son passed away recently, raising question marks over whether Ngannou would fight this year. He can also earn much more in boxing, where he has shown some ability. He has also conquered the UFC, which is a lot more competitive than the PFL. Meanwhile, the biggest MMA fight available is against Jon Jones, who is currently with the UFC. However, Sefo expects Ngannou to make an announcement about his future soon.

“There have been discussions, Francis has been back in camp for the last few weeks in Las Vegas at Xtreme Couture. That’s in the works and I think we’re just in the midst of trying to finalize where it’s going to be, when the date is, and what kind of timeframe it’s going to take for both athletes to be ready, and we’ll go from there,” Sefo stated