Irish MMA icon Conor McGregor recently shared his perspective on Francis Ngannou’s decision to sign a groundbreaking deal with the PFL instead of accepting the UFC’s contract offer.
In a conversation with Ariel Helwani, McGregor expressed his happiness for Ngannou’s success. However, he questioned Ngannou’s choice to join another promotion rather than re-signing with the UFC.
According to McGregor, Ngannou should have sought a resolution with the UFC before exploring other options.
McGregor stated: “I’m happy for Francis first of all, fair play…he done his thing. I still think he should’ve came to a resolution with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Who is he gonna fight? Who is he gonna fight that’s gonna capture the general public? There’s no one.”
McGregor further stated his doubts regarding the existence of exciting matchups for Ngannou in the PFL.
He said: “There’s no matchup that I can think of that I can even say to myself that it’s gonna do big…That is commendable for sure [Ngannou’s opponents receiving minimum $2 millon] and like I said, I’m happy for him. I just don’t see a buzz on an annoucement. I can’t see a name that gonna make me go [get out of my seat].”
While Conor McGregor has achieved remarkable financial success throughout his career, he remains open to potential offers in various combat sports. Even the prospect of competing in bare knuckle matches excites him. Following his attendance at BKFC 41, the former two-division UFC champion expressed his admiration for bare knuckle as an entertaining and action-packed sport.
In response to the question of whether he would consider participating in bare knuckle matches, McGregor responded with enthusiasm.
He said: “I would do it, yes I would! In a heartbeat I’ll do it. Yes I would do it for sure. It’s hard to get a boring fight…It’s actually almost impossible for a boring fight to happen in it.”