PFL’s long-discussed debut trip to Africa turned out to be a success in July, showcasing some of the promotion’s top talents like Dakota Ditcheva and Johnny Eblen. However, PFL Africa ambassador and heavyweight superstar Francis Ngannou was noticeably missing from the arena come fight night.
PFL founder Donn Davis expressed his disappointment with Ngannou’s absence following the conclusion of the launch event. Davis claimed not to know why the Cameroonian puncher didn’t attend the event, which bothered Ngannou. The former UFC heavyweight champion explained this week to Uncrowned exactly what led to his decision to not attend the first two Africa shows he pushed PFL to create.
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“I don’t think it was something [Davis] should have brought out there [to tell people], right?” Ngannou said Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “At least if it was me, I wouldn’t put it out there now, because he gets in the position where we have to bring up context [of] why didn’t I come there. He did know why I didn’t come. I’ve been waiting on this for two years — this was a big part of it. … I wasn’t OK with something, but I wasn’t the one that was going to [put it] out [into the public conversation].
“If you want to know what exactly is the reason why I wasn’t there, I wasn’t very OK with the first PFL Africa event seeming to be like an undercard,” Ngannou continued. “Quoting [Davis], we worked a lot for that, for [the launch of] PFL Africa. I hoped the PFL Africa debut would have at least had its glory, its moment. That wasn’t my decision. I wasn’t down for it, but I expressed my feelings to them.”
The keys to the proverbial castle in PFL were essentially handed to Ngannou upon his arrival to the promotion in 2023. Along with his high-value contract, the signing came with a role in spearheading PFL Africa as a sub-promotion under the overall PFL umbrella. But Ngannou believes his vision wasn’t necessarily met — he hoped the launch of PFL Africa would ideally consist exclusively of African talent.
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“This is what it’s about,” Ngannou said. “You talk about something for two years, you expect this glorious moment, and I couldn’t explain [to people why the card turned out how it did] if I had been there. It looks like I had been in a very bad position to explain how the PFL Africa I’ve been talking about has become an undercard. So, on that perspective, I’m not facing this. That was the main reason.
“What was worse for me was I have seen some people talking about it, but they didn’t even realize Aug. 9 was the second [PFL Africa] event.”
Despite holding down a lucrative spot on the PFL roster for more than two years, Ngannou has only fought once for the promotion, when he made his debut in October with a first-round stoppage of 2023 PFL heavyweight tournament winner Renan Ferreira. As part of his deal, Ngannou has been allowed to fight freely in big-money boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua during the period.
Francis Ngannou and PFL did not see eye-to-eye about the launch of PFL Africa.
(Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ngannou said he hasn’t had any formal discussions with PFL officials regarding a potential return to the cage in 2025, but has prodded them via email recently. He’s under the impression PFL does not have a suitable opponent for him at the moment and hasn’t spoken to Davis since their recent disagreements.
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The relationship between PFL and Ngannou appeared to be in a good place until Davis’ comments. From Ngannou’s perspective, things are still fine between both parties; it’s just a matter of understanding where each is coming from going forward.
“So far, I would say we’ve had a good relationship,” Ngannou said. “We have two businesses together. One is PFL Africa, and then one is me as a fighter and PFL as a promoter. But again, everything doesn’t always run smooth. It wasn’t like, ‘OK, this is not working.’ This just works like, ‘Oh, I don’t agree with this. I think it should be like this,’ and somebody gives his own point of view. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t work out.
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“Personally I don’t think we are in that point, as you can see, ‘Oh, we have a bad relationship.’ No, we have a good relationship. We are just working things out.
“I think the problem here is from a culture difference, which they are struggling to understand. The African culture aspect of things. I have to try to make sure that’s being considered. So I think that’s what is getting lost here. Because without that, the relationship would be qualified as a great relationship.”
