Ngannou vs. Ferreira Flops On PPV – ‘PFL Made A Bad Deal’
Francis Ngannou’s fight with Renan Ferreira reportedly sold a dismal 10,000 buys on PPV.
The news will not be positive for the PFL and Ngannou’s brand, given the hype surrounding his MMA comeback. Ngannou had not had an MMA fight since 2022, when he knocked out Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. The Predator left the organization to sign with the PFL as he built up his brand with two highly publicized boxing fights. Ngannou boxed Tyson Fury last October, taking the Gypsy King to the final bell. He dropped Fury in the third round and pushed him all the way. But he came up short in a split decision. However, he increased his fanbase with that performance, as it earned him a top-ten ranking in the WBC.
The Joshua fight was far less successful, as Ngannou was knocked out in round two. After that period, Ngannou suffered the tragic loss of his 15-month-old son, Kobe. That increased the speculation about whether Ngannou would fight again. But given that he was confirmed to fight Ferreira, the PPV numbers will be disappointing. This is especially true since he stopped him in the first round to become the best heavyweight in the PFL. This has major implications moving forward. The PFL will have to decide whether to keep Ngannou long-term, given that they have invested so much into The Predator.
PFL’s Competition
Their aim is to close the gap on the UFC, which is considered the leading brand in MMA. The UFC recently broke its live gate record with a figure of $22 million at UFC 306. That was the first combat sports event from the arena, which Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili headlined. White confirmed that they had reportedly spent around $20 million on the event. PFL Chairman Donn Davis confirmed that the PFL would be spending more on Ngannou ‘s fight than the UFC then had in The Sphere. That means the 10,000 PPVs will hit the organization financially.
They are likely to have suffered a loss on the card. It will also damage any potential crossover fight with Jon Jones moving forward. Dana White recently stated that Ngannou would have made more money had he stayed in the UFC. He also accused The Predator of avoiding a fight with Jon Jones, as the CEO of the UFC ruled out doing a co-promotion with the PFL.
White confirmed that he would never work with Ngannou again. Meanwhile, there was no sense to work with the PFL since the UFC was doing bigger numbers. There is also an argument that Ngannou is not facing the elite-level fighters in the PFL despite his impressive victory over Ferreira. Given that Ngannou’s chances of a UFC return are unlikely, he has to forge a name for himself elsewhere. But the PFL numbers show that he has a long way to go.
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