It appears that Francis Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champ and MMA’s lineal heavyweight champion, has known he’s been done with the PFL for a while.
Although the Professional Fighters League announced the news on Friday, during Tuesday’s Rousey vs. Carano kick-off press conference, Ngannou revealed that the announcement “was just the news that came out on Friday.”
“I think that this was an ongoing process for a couple months. I think we’ve been in this position since probably January, that I found out I would not be having another fight in the PFL,” stated Ngannou. “So then I started to look for other options. Then right away, I mean two weeks ago, I was reached out to by Nikisa [Bidarian] to give me an offer.”
Ngannou fought just once for the PFL, after signing with the league in 2023. That was an October 2024 fight against Renan Ferreira, who Ngannou finished via knockout.
Part of the PFL’s problem booking Francis Ngannou, alongside the star’s boxing pursuits, was landing the right opponent. It seems Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, who signed Ngannou for the Rousey-Carano card in the co-main event slot on May 16, faced the same struggles.
“Originally it was a big name. I mean no disrespect to Philipe, Philipe Lins, which is even a more dangerous opponent, but originally it was Rico [Verhoeven, former GLORY kickboxing champ]. So he [Bidarian] called me, and was like ‘okay, what do you think about fighting Rico in MMA?’ I’m like ‘damn, that sounds good. I never thought about it, but I think it’s a good opportunity.’”
Of course, that’s not the fight that was put together in the end. Verhoeven instead took a fight in boxing, against Oleksandr Usyk. Ngannou meanwhile gets fellow PFL and UFC vet Philipe Lins.
“Long story short, [that was] on Friday two weeks ago. Then Rico gets signed for the Usyk fight, so that wasn’t an option. Then we were looking for a replacement, then Philipe came out as the best option.”
Asked why he was still competing at this stage of his career, Ngannou bristled. “I’m not done. What do you mean, at this stage of my career?” he questioned.
“I still enjoy this. I’m in a better shape than I’ve ever been, even while fighting. For the past nine months, I’ve been in the gym everyday just because I enjoy it,” explained Ngannou. “So far it’s still my job. Of course I do some stuff on the side, but this is my primary job. I just wake up, get excited to go to the gym, do what I want to do, then look around if I have a fight.”
“That’s also a privilege of being a free man. You go out there, do whatever pleases you, and then if there is an opportunity to fight, you fight. If there’s not, you do your business, do your living, and keep on moving.”
“The good thing is when you have to do it because you want to do it, because you like to do it. I think that’s when the real pleasure of fighting begins,” continued Ngannou. “You don’t feel like you’re obliged, you’re forced to fight, you have to. It’s better to fight when you want to fight, and that’s the position that I am in right now.”
Francis Ngannou expects that, in that position, he can continue to compete for a couple more years.