Earlier this year, Jake Paul and the Professional Fighters League (PFL) joined forces to create a pay-per-view division known as the “PFL PPV Super Fight,” which guarantees fighters a 50% share of event revenue.
‘The Problem Child’ made history as the first fighter to sign up for the new division. Recently, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou inked a lucrative deal with the PFL, ushering in a new era for the promotion.
Both Paul and Francis prioritize the “fighter-first” approach, and the revenue-sharing model in PFL is significantly more advantageous to fighters than the UFC’s. In the UFC, fighters receive less than 20% of the gross income.
Or let’s have PFL and UFC work together and put on a massive event on ESPN.
Ngannou vs Jones,
Nunes vs Harrison,
Edwards vs Doumbe
& of course Diaz vs Paul after I knock his ass out in boxing.Francis, Kayla, Cedric you in? https://t.co/39HKkc1yiu
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) May 16, 2023
Jake took to Twitter recently to propose a cross-promotional event between the UFC and the PFL, which would include some high-profile matchups such as Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou.
“Let’s have PFL and UFC work together and put on a massive event on ESPN. [Francis] Ngannou vs. [Jon] Jones, [Amanda] Nunes vs. [Kayla] Harrison, [Leon] Edwards vs. [Cedric] Doumbe, and of course [Nate] Diaz vs. [Jake] Paul after I knock his ass out in boxing. Francis, Kayla, Cedric you in?”
Paul also hinted at a potential MMA fight between him and Nate Diaz after their upcoming boxing bout in August.
This proposal comes after a series of recent events that have seen both Jake and Ngannou sign lucrative deals with the PFL, bringing attention to the organization’s “fighter-first” philosophy.
While it remains to be seen if this event will ever come to fruition, it has certainly generated a lot of excitement among MMA fans.
Jake Paul signs Francis Ngannou amidst his highly anticipated clash
After Francis announced his new contract with PFL, Jon Jones took a shot at “The Predator,” questioning his claims about being the baddest fighter on the planet.
Ngannou’s new deal with PFL allows him to compete in boxing in 2024, but Jones doesn’t seem impressed with his statements regarding his MMA skills. Francis proclaimed himself as the “baddest motherf***** on the planet” on his YouTube channel.
Which prompted Jon, the current UFC heavyweight champion, to react on social media. With Jones now holding the heavyweight belt that Ngannou vacated after parting ways with the UFC in 2022, their rivalry seems to have taken a new turn.
Calling yourself the baddest man on the planet from across the street, who does that? Lol
— BONY (@JonnyBones) May 16, 2023
“Calling yourself the baddest man on the planet from across the street, who does that?” Jones wrote on Twitter.
Jon, who currently holds the UFC heavyweight belt that Ngannou vacated when he left the company in 2022, didn’t seem impressed with Ngannou’s claims on where he stands in the competitive aspect of MMA.
Francis left the UFC on a six-fight winning streak over some of the promotion’s best, including Ciryl Gane, Stipe Miocic, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Junior dos Santos, Cain Velasquez, and Curtis Blaydes, winning all of these fights in a span of just 28 months.
Meanwhile, Jones recently made his long-awaited heavyweight debut and won the UFC championship by tapping out Gane in under five minutes.
Ngannou’s announcement on The MMA Hour revealed that he plans to box in the coming months and will only make his PFL debut in 2024. It remains to be seen whether Francis’s ambitious plan to compete in both boxing and MMA will pay off, but fans are eagerly anticipating his return to the octagon.
What are your thoughts regarding this? Let us know in the comment section below.
