Ngannou is the way forward
Before Rousey vs. Carano had even transpired, one of the most common questions thrown towards MVP’s Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian (a former UFC Chief Financial Officer) was, what’s the plan for your next event?
Bidarian told Cageside Press last week that there were “multiple athletes on this card alone that could headline their own card, that is good as anything as any other promoter in the world is doing.”
Maybe. One stands out.
If anything, Francis Ngannou is the way forward. It certainly isn’t Nate Diaz, who looked old, slow, and tired in his loss to Mike Perry on Saturday. And with apologies to Perry, Netflix will want something a little bigger than “Platinum,” or the “King of Violence” if you prefer.
Perry can certainly take part, and even co-headline with the right opponent, but Francis Ngannou is the way forward. And no, it won’t be against Jon Jones. The UFC is not about to let him out of his contract, and if he even has a sunset clause in that deal, it’s quite likely a couple of years away.
There are other options, however. First and foremost, Ngannou is the A-side of any fight, you just need to promote him right. Forget the boxing forays and focus on the fact that he is MMA’s lineal MMA champion. He never lost his UFC title, he quit the company in a contract dispute. Ngannou has the legitimacy, but you can’t run a main event with something like Ngannou vs. Lins, either. Ngannou got the win, in violent fashion, but it wasn’t really competitive.
So, look elsewhere. Bidarian has a seemingly positive relationship with PFL CEO John Martin, who happens to have Russian Vadim Nemkov under contract. Nemkov was a light heavyweight champion in Bellator, who has since made a name for himself as a heavyweight as well. This past December, he won the PFL’s heavyweight championship.
Now, Nemkov may be a bit undersized, like Lins (another former PFL champ, winning the 2018 PFL heavyweight season). So how about Phil De Fries? A legit heavyweight with heavyweight size who is on the most remarkable run of any heavyweight in the world at the moment. A former UFC star, after overcoming anxiety issues, De Fries won the KSW heavyweight title in 2018 and has defended it an incredible 14(!) times. He’s on a 16-fight win streak overall, that includes former UFC fighters Augusto Sakai, Todd Duffee, Darko Stosic, and Lius Henrique, among others.
KSW let Salahdine Parnasse go, and he competed on the MVP MMA card. They might be willing to let De Fries out on loan for a high-profile fight.
There’s also Rico Verhoeven, depending on how his boxing match with Oleksandr Usyk goes. That happens on May 23. MVP tried to secure Verhoeven for Ngannou, but came in second to the Usyk fight. The UFC? A distant third, offering the kickboxing legend Derrick Lewis.
There’s also Robelis Despaigne, though his profile, even coming off a win over Junior Dos Santos, isn’t there yet. Now, if you can book the Cuban another big name opponent, a younger one, and see him win, maybe that works down the road.
Parnasse has potential star power
Salahdine Parnasse was being called the “Mbappe of MMA” this past week. Well, by Ariel Helwani anyway.
They are both French, and both talented. Parnasse has long been considered one of the best fighters outside the UFC. Two belts in KSW, at featherweight and lightweight, and challenging for a third at welterweight, shows the quality of fighter Parnasse is. It was a shock to see KSW actually release Salahdine earlier this year, allowing him to try his hand elsewhere, but the Polish promotion has been struggling of late.
Parnasse did exactly what was expected of him at MVP MMA’s Rousey vs. Carano card on Saturday. He finished Kenny Cross, inside of a round, in violent fashion, climbed up the cage, and celebrated. He called out Mike Perry for a fight in Paris.
The language barrier (Parnasse doesn’t speak much English) might hurt him a little with North American fans, but if Alex Pereira can get by without English, surely MVP can find a way to get Salahdine over. The PFL has a huge French star in Cedric Doumbe (even though they can’t seem to get him a fight), and MVP could have the same in Parnasse.
