Following the recent announcement of Francis Ngannou signing with PFL, Israel Adesanya has shared his thoughts on the matter. Adesanya, a good friend of Ngannou, expressed his positive outlook on the lucrative deal in an interview for his YouTube channel.
FRANCIS NGANNOU AT THE PFL: THE DETAILS OF HIS GOLDEN CONTRACT | MMA MAG
Adesanya commended the news, stating, “It’s good news. It’s good for the game, I think.”
He specifically highlighted the guarantee of a million dollars for Ngannou’s opponents, stating, “What I really liked is how his opponent is guaranteed a million [dollars] – that’s cool.” Adesanya also praised Ngannou’s involvement with PFL Africa, mentioning his appreciation for AKO (African KO), a promotion already showcasing promising fights.
He added, “Francis has a seat at the board, at the table – that’s cool.”
The prospect of facing Ngannou and the potential financial reward for opponents caught Adesanya’s attention, leading him to comment.
“This thing like his opponent is guaranteed a million [dollars], how many fighters are gonna be like, ‘Right, I need to get to the PFL, I wanna fight Francis’ because now, Francis is the guy, he’s the money fight. That’s another twist on it that I like,” the UFC Middleweight champion added.
Adesanya also addressed the ongoing criticism of fighter pay in the UFC, expressing his belief that this deal could spark change within the promotion.
“I think the UFC, they’re not dumb, they’ll take notice, they know how to adapt. And when something like this happens in another field, it creates a big ripple in the game, and a big enough ripple can force the UFC to change the way [they do things], even if it’s a small change,” Adesanya concluded.
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced a groundbreaking strategic partnership with Francis Ngannou, Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion and the first African heavyweight world champion in history, exclusively competed in MMA for PFL’s new PPV Super Fight Division.
