Reaction | Grading Francis Ngannou and PFL's Blockbuster Partnership Announcement

MMA Fighting

Vox Media Podcast Network

Sports, News, Sports News

4.5 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2023

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The long wait for Francis Ngannou’s free agent decision is over as the former UFC heavyweight champion announced Tuesday that he is the newest member of the PFL roster and the chairman of the league’s PFL Africa expansion. Ngannou’s signing ends a 16-month wait to see where the Cameroonian-French star would take his talents. He fought his last fight at UFC 270 and then officially parted ways with the UFC this past January amid plenty of speculation as to what lay ahead for him: A mega boxing match with Tyson Fury? Would he simply head over to another top MMA promotion? Will he ever fight Jon Jones? Add in that Ngannou’s rift with the UFC was due to wanting several unprecedented contract stipulations and it’s fair to say that he was the most intriguing free agent in MMA history. MMA Fighting’s Alexander K. Lee and Jed Meshew react to the breaking news, grade the deal for Ngannou and the PFL, discuss whether criticism of Ngannou’s decisions were justified, and what this means for other UFC stars who may want to explore life outside of the octagon. Follow Jed Meshew: @JedKMeshew Follow Alexander K. Lee: @alexanderklee Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:07.0	Hello, happy Tuesday, everyone.
0:12.0	If you're listening to this, then you know the big news of the day, the big news of the week.
0:17.0	One of the biggest sports stories of the year,
0:21.0	Franzenganu has found a home.
0:23.0	He has officially signed with the Fresno Fighters League, the PSL.
0:27.0	The former UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the number one heavyweight in the MMA fighting global rankings,
0:34.0	made his announcement via the New York Times, ending four months.
0:38.0	I would say 16 months from his last fight at UFC 270 months of speculation as to where he would go.
0:46.0	We knew that Franzenganu had fought out his contract 16 months ago,
0:49.0	and it was only earlier this year that he officially got his release.
0:53.0	So massive news. This is not just a deal.
0:56.0	It is being announced as a strategic partnership.
0:59.0	He will be heading PFL's Africa David.
1:04.0	He's the chairman, excuse me, of PFL Africa.
1:07.0	He'll be part of the promotion super fight division.
1:10.0	They're still talking about boxing in 2023.
1:13.0	And as is described in the release, this is supposed to be the most lucrative deal in MMA history.
1:20.0	So we'll kind of dive into that today.
1:23.0	We being myself, this is a voice of Alexander Kay Lee,
1:26.0	and of course, my good friend and associate, the Jed Moschew.
1:31.0	Jed, how are you doing today?
	...

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