Ahead of inaugural MMA event on Netflix we are breaking down the top storylines from the card. Today, Francis Ngannou’s next chapter.
A UFC title? Check
Major boxing pay days? Check
When looking at the career of Francis Ngannou, one can say he’s accomplished almost anything one could hope for. “The Predator” recorded victories (most by knockout) over multiple former UFC champions and top contenders en route to becoming the world champion himself. Today, he is still the lineal UFC heavyweight champion as he defeated the last title holder while not being defeated himself since then. For those unfamiliar, he elected to leave the UFC once completing his contract despite being the reigning champion back in 2023.
🇨🇲Francis Ngannou 🆚 Renan Ferreira 🇧🇷
▶️Watch the full fights on the PFL MMA YouTube Channel or PFL App TODAY!
🔗 https://t.co/kzDZUQYihu pic.twitter.com/nAswFpgixD— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 7, 2025
It’s true, fights with Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall were left behind to never materialize for Ngannou. But something arguably better came to him. A pair of highly lucrative pay days to compete in boxing, against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua respectively. Ngannou came up short in both contests, but he was paid millions more than he would have made by staying in the UFC.
He was a part of the PFL during this stretch, but as things would turn out would only compete once in MMA for them. Since then, there was question of what the future held for Ngannou with the UFC chapter seemingly in the rear-view and no big fight on the horizon for him outside of the Octagon.
Instead, this opportunity for Ngannou appears to set him up for a big opportunity. He has already stoked the flames of a potential clash with Jake Paul. He will be fighting on a platform on Netflix that has already shown they like working with Paul. Assuming Ngannou defeats former PFL season champion and UFC vet Philipe Lins, which he is heavily favored to do so, and all the ingredients appear in place for Ngannou to set up one more big fight.
