Israel Adesanya Lauds Francis Ngannou, but UFC "Not Dumb"

Israel Adesanya gave props to Francis Ngannou's monumental signing.

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is "stoked" for Francis Ngannou, as the former UFC heavyweight champion announced his ground-breaking deal with the 'Professional Fighter's League' (PFL):

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"How happy [am I for Ngannou?] Stoked .... It's good news, It's good for the game," Adesanya remarked in a May 18 appearance on his YouTube channel.

"His opponent is guaranteed a million [dollars]. That's cool. What [Ngannou] is doing with PFL Africa. [Ngannou] has a seat at the [board of directors]."

Adesanya touched on Ngannou's opponents getting a guaranteed purse, which is $2million according to Ngannou, and how it's not just good for heavyweights in MMA, but for the sport in general:

"Now [Ngannou] is the guy; he's the money fight. So that's a twist on it that I like.

"The UFC, they're not dumb, they'll know how to adapt. When something like this happens in another field it creates a big ripple in the game, and a big enough ripple can force the UFC to change."

As a fellow African native, Adesanya had a deep personal investment in Ngannou's UFC journey. Alongside Kamaru Usman, they formed a united front as African champions, sharing their remarkable accomplishments.

How Francis Ngannou's Shift Can Benefit the Sport of MMA

Whilst Adesanya will undoubtedly show support for Ngannou, he does make a correct evaluation on the advancement of the UFC with PFL as healthy competition.

The UFC has had market dominance on mixed martial arts for 30 or so years, guiding its parent company 'Endeavor' to a net revenue of nearly $1.3billion in 2022 alone.

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Bellator, the second-largest MMA promotion, projected their 2020 revenue at $100million. By comparison, in 2016, the UFC was sold to WWE-IMG for $4billion, a staggering 40 times larger than Bellator's projected revenue two years later, and over 200 times larger than Bellator's actual disclosed revenue in 2016.

Ngannou's defiant stand has equalized the playing field between the UFC and the PFL. Fighters can now find incentivization in a 'secondary' MMA promotion. It's a dramatic power shift from MMA promotions to MMA fighters. The UFC no longer holds all the chips.

With Ngannou's disclosed contract, an immediate threat has been made to the UFC heavyweight roster. Why shouldn't UFC heavyweights fight out their contracts and pursue Ngannou in PFL for a guaranteed $2million? Why shouldn't other MMA promotions follow suit and pull big name fighters from the ranks of the UFC?

It's healthy competition for the UFC, and as Adesanya mentioned, it should force the global leader in MMA to adapt and improve, which is a win/win scenario for fight fans everywhere.

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