23 December 2023
Picture By Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing
2. Francis Ngannou vs Deontay Wilder
Perhaps this fight necessitates a couple caveats.
Obviously, the appeal of this fight is that you’d rather not see grappling. Secondly, a five round championship for his first fight may not be the most fair, even with a handicap, for Wilder.
But when looking at the PFL, a more novelty matchup for their major signee Ngannou might be the move that gets the MMA world buzzing enough to capitalize on his star power. “The Predator” remains the lineal UFC heavyweight champion and quickly dispatched the powerful Renan Ferreira in October. While there are options in house for the promotion in the likes of former Bellator champion Vadim Nemkov or 2024 tournament champion Denis Goltzov, an out of left field matchup like Wilder feels like it would draw more unique attention as opposed to the PFL giving Ngannou the next man up.
Former WBC champion Deontay Wilder may be in a better position to take this bout now than he has been in years prior. While in the last two years he’s been on the cusp of securing bouts with the likes of Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk, recent losses have put him on the outside looking in at the large marquee bouts.
The opportunity, and more importantly the likely lucrative paycheck, may be the biggest bout for Wilder in this moment. Further, the event feels as if it could be a now or never moment to see influencer turned boxer Jake Paul finally make his PFL debut after having announced he would be entering the cage back in 2023. Considering the unique nature of the marquee events that Paul is a part of, the tandem of Ngannou, Wilder, and Paul together on one card could be the kind of event that allows PFL to break into the next level with the fan base.
