Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones engaged in a face-off on Sunday during the PFL 5 event that took place at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atalanta. The UFC heavyweight champion was in attendance to witness the fights and he even gave an interview. During the faceoff, both the heavyweights started sizing each other up and traded verbal shots.
Thereafter, both the heavyweights showed their interest to square off inside the octagon. Their faceoff at PFL became the headlines for the evening as two of the biggest names in the heavyweight division finally met each other.
Francis Ngannou slams UFC’s priorities
The UFC tried their best by offering a gigantic sum of money to Francis Ngannou so that he would re-sign with the organization. However, The Predator was unhappy about a lot of things that the promotion was doing and one of those factors that contributed to his leaving was the fighter pay system.
Consequently, in a recent interview with PFL, Ngannou slammed the UFC for their priorities and shared his disgust on how fighters who weren’t even champions or on his level were making more money than he was in the UFC.
“It was embarrassing. I’d get to places with some athletes that are not even on my level, and they’re talking about their deals and their revenue. I’d just shut my mouth and try to sneak out. For about five years, it was a topic that I wasn’t able to talk about out loud.”
“At least one show, one Fight Night, so I could fight on my continent. I really want to bring something back home. For an athlete, you want to get something and bring it back to your people. But none of that was ever considered.”
How much is Ngannou getting paid at PFL?
After becoming a free agent in 2023, Francis Ngannou became the hottest prospect in the combat sports world. Consequently, he discussed with several MMA organizations like One Championship and Bellator. Unfortunately, those promotions could not match his terms.
As per sources, The Predator will reportedly earn more than $4 million per fight and his opponents will earn a minimum of $2 million.
Apart from the guaranteed pay, Ngannou will roughly receive 50% of the PPV share. Francis Ngannou will make nearly four or five times more money than he was making in the UFC. If the numbers are true then it seems like the former heavyweight champion made the right choice of signing with PFL.
