In today’s boxing and MMA news, Francis Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, has opened up on his recent PFL deal. 

Following his departure from the UFC after contract talks broke down, Ngannou was being linked with numerous organizations including the One Championship, Bellator and the PFL.

Ngannou ended up signing with the latter as the deal gave him an option to box in 2023 before his debut with the PFL in 2024. And as of now, Ngannou is getting ready to face Tyson Fury for his upcoming crossover fight on October 28th, 2023.

The bout will be intriguing since Ngannou has not fought since his win over Ciryl Gane in January 2022. Not only that, but he will be making his boxing debut. 

But when it comes to his PFL deal, Ngannou revealed that he took his time to decide who he would be fighting under moving forward.

This included having a meeting with One Championship’s Chatri Sityodtong, but when it  came to the contracts, it was only the PFL that satisfied his demands. 

Ngannou On The PFL Deal

"A couple days after [my first meeting with the PFL], they made a proposal. When he made the structure of the proposal, I looked at it and thought it was good. You know, everything was being taken into consideration. There’s always going to be ways to negotiate in a contract. But the way they structured it, I was already happy… But we kept that contract, at that time I was like, ‘Why rush into anything, take some time’, no, I didn’t sign. Then, we got to Chatri. Chatri reached out, we talked, same thing. A couple of days [go by] and they send their own contract. But, when I was putting the contract next to the PFL one, it was day and night… Yeah, [the PFL’s was better]," Ngannou said 

Outside of that, Ngannou has had a few choice words to say about Fury as their fight approaches closer. The MMA fighter touched upon the ‘glove-gate’ scandal. This was in reference to Fury’s fight second Deontay Wilder fight.

The ‘Bronze Bomber’ accused the Gypsy King of tampering with his gloves as Wilder was stopped in the second fight.

"It’s impossible for a brand new 10oz glove to bend, to keep a smushed-in form or to have loose space. I highly believe you had something hard in your glove, something the size and the shape of an egg-weight. It’s the reason why the side of my face swelled up in an egg-weight form. And it left a dent in my face as well. I know the truth behind that. I don’t condone cheating and s**t like that. I know that no matter what people say," Wilder stated

Ngannou On Fury Cheating

And Ngannou felt that the boxer had placed less padding in his gloves as a way to make his punches be a lot harder. And yet, it is important to bear in mind the following.

Even with such claims, boxers do have the right to observe the hand wrapping. This also includes the right to inspect their gloves before they get into the ring.

And since that did not happen when it came to Fury, it is ultimately a claim that is based on words. However, Ngannou was adamant that there could have been something untoward. 

"He’s very tricky with his glove. I think he’s cheating. I’ve heard a lot of complaints about his gloves, that his gloves have no protection. Even when he fought Deontay Wilder, he complained about that. Derek Chisora complained about that. And that’s what we’re talking about with the team, the U.K. commission. …We’re going to get there, and we need every glove to get checked. You don’t tell me about this, commission. All the gloves get to be checked. If you want us to fight bareknuckle, let’s go bareknuckle, but don’t give me 10-ounce gloves. And he wears eight- or six-ounce gloves because he has no protection," Ngannou said

Ultimately, Ngannou will be in a position to do his own checks when he faces Fury. And come fight night, the best boxer will end up winning.