After parting ways with the UFC earlier this year due to issues regarding a new contract, Francis Ngannou, also known as “The Predator,” has been the talk of the town among various combat sports promotions.
UFC initially tried to spin as if they were releasing Ngannou in an attempt to make him less appealing. However Ngannou’s knock outs speak for themselves and he can’t really be disappeared as easily as Demetrius Johnson.
Finally, on May 16th, the 36-year-old is set to make an announcement that could change the course of his career.
Since becoming a free agent, Ngannou has been attracting a lot of attention from different organizations. However, not all have been eager to sign him. For instance, the Bare Knuckle FC publicly stated that they weren’t interested in him, and there were even rumors that his value as a free agent was dropping.
Bellator’s Scott Coker was 50/50 on the deal from the get go citing uncertainty about matching Ngannou’s expectations, Unlike a number of other promotions Bellator actually had a heavyweight division however with their own organization on sale and even rumored to be getting acquired by the PFL, the stars never aligned.
ONE FC CEO Chatri Sitydong struggled to market their American debut while their financial issues remain unsolved, so they tried to court a portion of UFC fanbase by trying to imply Francis Ngannou was overstepping his bounds in negotiation.
Helwani debunked the claims the next day after speaking to Ngannou.
“Francis is very close to signing a new deal with another promotion. According to Francis, he was very upfront about this. They [Ngannou and Chatri Sityodtong of ONE] left the meeting on good terms, but both of them came to an understanding that because he had already verbally committed to someone, it’s more than likely he’s not going to ONE… I thought it was really interesting when I asked him [Ngannou] about PFL, that was the one that really got him fired up.”
While there are no specific details yet, many are speculating that he might end up with the PFL.
On May 16th, Ngannou will finally put an end to all the speculation by announcing his next move.