Brendan Schaub doesn’t think the PFL has the financial structure for the Francis Ngannou deal.
On Tuesday, May 16, the MMA world was set on fire when Ngannou announced a historic partnership with the PFL. Along with an exclusive three-fight contract, ‘The Predator’ secured various benefits, including a minimum of $2 million for his future opponents, the Chairman of PFL Africa position, freedom to pursue professional boxing, and more.
Although most people were happy for Ngannou, there are questions about whether the partnership was a good business decision by the PFL. During an episode of The Schaub Show, Schaub reacted to Dana White’s concerns about the deal by saying:
“From a business standpoint, this deal is great for Francis Ngannou, it’s great for him… For the PFL, it is a disaster. I don’t want this to come out and the headlines will be Schaub hates on Francis. I love Francis… I adore Francis and his agent Marquel, absolutely f*cking love those guys. What they did is amazing, it’s history in the making. The point is, PFL does not have the infrastructure to carry this through for this to be a success in any facet.”
The UFC president was asked about Ngannou’s historic new contract during the UFC Vegas 73 press conference. White claimed he doesn’t understand how the deal makes sense from a business perspective. He also was confused about ‘The Predator’ being able to pursue professional boxing first, extending his layoff from MMA until 2024.
Brendan Schaub labels the Francis Ngannou deal a ‘disaster for PFL’
Brendan Schaub clarified that he supports Francis Ngannou and hopes he gets everything promised. With that said, the former UFC fighter isn’t confident that the PFL will be able to hold up their end of the day aft Ngannou’s first MMA fight. He had this to say during the same podcast episode:
“Whatever metrics you’re looking at, does not show that this is going to turn out well for Francis Ngannou. It’s just not. I hope it does. I hope they get this funding, I hope they get an opponent that people want to watch and see. All points are showing that this is a disaster for PFL. It’s just business… The numbers in history would show that this is not going to work out for PFL. Now Francis might get his first fight and get paid a ton of money. but then after that, it’s gonna get a little dicey. The funding stops coming when they don’t get the return.”
Ngannou’s last fight was a unanimous decision win against Ciryl Gane for the UFC heavyweight championship in January 2022. Now that he’s committed to professional boxing for 2023, ‘The Predator’ will endure at least a two-year layoff before his PFL debut. It’s unclear who the Cameroon-born fighter will fight, but the PFL has over six months and plenty of money to offer.
"The PFL is a special organization that puts fighters 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧" – @francis_ngannou
Go behind the scenes of the biggest MMA signing in history pic.twitter.com/aiuWrHnzGL
— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 17, 2023
