Francis Ngannou will allegedly receive $19,400,000 more than his UFC payouts

Francis Ngannou’s departure from the UFC to sign with the PFL sent shockwaves around the MMA community, given the perception that the UFC was significantly superior to the PFL. However, the PFL’s recent acquisition of Bellator has bolstered its roster, creating a lineup that could compete with the premier MMA promotion in the world.

Fighter pay discussions, a prominent controversy surrounding the UFC, are further fueled by an upcoming lawsuit scheduled for trial in April. Nevertheless, since signing with the PFL, which granted Ngannou the freedom to pursue boxing, the Cameroonian fighter has significantly increased his financial earnings.

Francis Ngannou expected to make 33 times more than his UFC earnings

Francis Ngannou’s last MMA fight took place at UFC 270 against Ciryl Gane, a former training partner at the MMA Factory in France. Ngannou unified the title with a victory over Gane, the interim champion, overcoming a two-round deficit to ultimately secure a unanimous decision win.

Ngannou earned a meager $600K for his fight against Gane and chose not to re-sign with the UFC after the expiration of his contract. Moreover, for his boxing debut against Fury, Ngannou bagged a $15 million purse, ironically much lower than Fury’s $50 million purse. Now, in his second boxing match, which he lost to Anthony Joshua by brutal knockout, he will likely make close to $20 million, as per Mirror.

Ngannou’s purse for the fight with Joshua is 33 times more than the purse he got for his fight against Gane. After the fight with Gane, Ngannou was offered a three-fight deal worth $8 million by the UFC which the Cameroonian rejected without hesitation.

With successive defeats in his boxing endeavors, Ngannou will most likely return to fight in MMA against Renan Ferreira, the PFL heavyweight champion, in what will be Ngannou’s debut with the promotion.

Francis Ngannou once borrowed $200K from Kamaru Usman

Even though Francis Ngannou achieved the coveted UFC heavyweight championship, his finances were not substantial, as he never earned a million in any of his fights with the UFC. Ngannou even had to borrow money from his friends in the UFC, as revealed during his appearance on the Pound for Pound podcast.

“I was broke at the time. I owe Usman right here, I owe him $200,000,” Ngannou shared about borrowing money from Kamaru Usman just before his fight with Gane. The Pound for Pound podcast is a new show hosted by Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, two former UFC champions, with Ngannou as the debut guest.

Usman, alongside Israel Adesanya, walked out with Ngannou at the Battle of the Baddest in what became one of the most iconic walkouts in combat sports history. At one point, Ngannou, Usman, and Adesanya simultaneously held UFC titles and were in the top 5 of the UFC pound-for-pound rankings.

Despite the ongoing tension between the UFC and Ngannou, Usman continues to endorse his friend, evident in his wearing of Ngannou’s merchandise during the fight week of UFC 294, where he fought and lost to Khamzat Chimaev.

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