Francis Ngannou has revealed he will earn ‘a lot more’ money for his debut fight in the Professional Fighters League next month than he did throughout his entire UFC career.
Ngannou had been trying to negotiate a new contract with the UFC for more than two years before Dana White announced that the MMA star had been released from his deal in January 2023.
Ngannou turned down an offer that would have made him the highest-paid heavyweight of all time because the money on the table was still a drop in the ocean compared to the PFL.
Since signing for the PFL, Ngannou has secured a highly-anticipated crossover bout with Tyson Fury – which is set to take place in Saudi Arabia on October 28 as part of Riyadh season.
According to reports, his purse for the Fury fight will exceed the £6m-a-fight ($8m) deal he was offered by the UFC to extend his stay and become their ‘highest paid athlete’ last year.
Francis Ngannou has revealed he will earn ‘a lot more money’ for his debut PFL boxing match than he did in his entire UFC career
He had been trying to negotiate a new contract with the MMA promotion until he was released at the start of the year
Ngannou has not revealed exactly how much he is making from the Fury fight in Saudi Arabia later this month, but did say it was a life changing amount of money.
When asked about whether there was a substantial difference between the pay he received during his time with UFC and the money he is making with the PFL, Ngannou said: ‘Oh definitely. What are you talking about.
‘Lets just say, this is the beginning of my career. Lets put it that way. The pay is different [from UFC]. It’s a lot different. I was saying the other day on the Joe Rogan podcast, if I combine all my salaries from what I made in MMA, it’s not even half of what I am going to make in my next MMA fight [with PFL].’
The former UFC heavyweight champion said: ‘We won’t even talk about boxing, let’s say on MMA. I am speaking for myself, but for me it’s a huge difference.’
Ngannou is currently in Las Vegas preparing for his debut bout with Tyson Fury next month
Ngannou, former world heavyweight champion in the UFC, said the pay in boxing is ‘very different’ to MMA
Ngannou taking part in PFL’s Super-fight division will allow fighters to earn at least 50 per cent of the pay-per-view revenue
The PFL confirmed in May of this year that Ngannou had signed an ‘exclusive global MMA strategic partnership’ with the organisation.
The exclusive partnership has seen Ngannou receive equity and take on leadership roles in the PFL whilst also being allowed to pursue boxing fights elsewhere.
As a result, Ngannou will take part in his first sanctioned boxing contest against WBC heavyweight champion, Fury, on October 28.
Additionally, Ngannou will take part in PFL’s Super-fight division, which allows fighters to earn at least 50 per cent of the pay-per-view [PPV] revenue. That’s marks a substantial difference compared to the UFC’s 20 per cent cut for fighters.