{"id":297434,"date":"2023-05-16T21:55:36","date_gmt":"2023-05-16T21:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=297434"},"modified":"2023-05-17T00:59:20","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T00:59:20","slug":"ufc-greats-game-changing-defection-to-rival-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=297434","title":{"rendered":"UFC great's 'game-changing' defection to rival league"},"content":{"rendered":"

The PFL<\/a> has pulled off arguably the biggest signing in the competition's five-year history, swooping on former UFC<\/a> heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.<\/p>\n

The deal will see Ngannou fight exclusively in MMA in the PFL by way of its new Super Fight Division.<\/p>\n

Ngannou's debut will come in 2024 against a yet-to-be-confirmed opponent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Watch all the action from the 2023 Professional Fighters League, featuring Australian champion Rob Wilkinson.<\/strong><\/em> Streaming ad free, live and on demand on Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

An element of the partnership will see Ngannou join the PFL Global Advisory Board and will be an equity owner and chairman of the newly-launched PFL Africa.<\/p>\n

\"Francis<\/p>\n

Ngannou finished his fighting contract with the UFC in 2022 with a 17-3 record and was reportedly offered a new deal.<\/p>\n

UFC boss Dana White said an offer was put on the table that would have made the Cameroon-born fighter the highest-paid heavyweight fighter in the sport.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, negotiations broke down due to disagreements regarding contract length and universal health care for athletes.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Dragons stars could walk after Griffin axing<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\ufeffREAD MORE:<\/strong> 'Furious' Djokovic's icy staredown after body hit<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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"You have to give a ton of credit to Francis," said Marquel Martin, Ngannou's former manager.<\/p>\n

"Most fighters couldn't go through what he went through this past year. He understands his value and has been extremely patient to get to this point.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"Now, not only is he the best heavyweight in the world, but he has a deal that is unmatched and will set him up for life."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/PFLMMA\/status\/1658405810999894019<\/a><\/p>\n

Ngannou hasn't fought since the beginning of 2022 and sat out the season due to a knee injury.<\/p>\n

Although he vacated his heavyweight title, which was won by Jon Jones, the 33-year-old is recognised as arguably the best in his division the world over.<\/p>\n

"I am very excited for this game-changing partnership with the Professional Fighters League to continue my MMA fighting career in the PFL's Super Fight Division," said Ngannou.<\/p>\n

"I believe in the PFL's 'fighter first' culture and global vision including developing the sport in Africa.<\/p>\n

"With that, I am also proud to announce that I will serve as Chairman of PFL Africa which will be the leading MMA organization on the continent providing great African fighters the opportunity to compete on a global platform."<\/p>\n

\"Francis<\/p>\n

PFL CEO Peter Murray hailed the signing as one of the largest in the league's history.<\/p>\n

"The PFL is excited to announce its groundbreaking strategic partnership with Francis Ngannou, the greatest heavyweight MMA fighter in the world," said Murray.<\/p>\n

"Beyond working with Francis to advance the sport of MMA and scale PFL globally, I'm personally looking forward to supporting Francis in his commitment to fight for communities in Africa and around the world, inspired by his vision for the Francis Ngannou Foundation."<\/p>\n

The new deal opens the door for Ngannou to make boxing cameos too.<\/p>\n

The PFL season continues on June 9, with coverage live, ad-free, and exclusively on Stan Sport.<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The PFL has pulled off arguably the biggest signing in the competition's five-year history, swooping on former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. The deal will […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":297436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297434"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=297434"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":297439,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297434\/revisions\/297439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/297436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=297434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=297434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=297434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}