According to PFL founder and chairman Donn Davis, there’s no truth behind talk of Francis Ngannou approaching a potential termination clause in his contract.
Ngannou has competed just once in the PFL since signing in May 2023 off the back of his highly publicized exit from the UFC. “The Predator” debuted by knocking out Renan Ferreira in quick time last October.
Having previously fought Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in boxing, the Cameroonian appears likely to return to the ring for his next combat sports outing before adding to his MMA tally again.
While his next appearance in the cage is expected to come under the PFL banner, journalist John Nash recently addressed a rumored termination clause that could see Ngannou leave the organization as early as this month during his Hey, Not The Face podcast.
“If it’s true that his contract has a termination date and that termination date is the end of this month, they better get on that!” Nash said. “Because this is one of their major selling points, and if they’re looking for a big TV deal after UFC maybe leaves (ESPN), you’re gonna need Francis Ngannou to get that sale. That just shows you in some ways the message are communicating to the CEOs and in the corporate world, those are things that we as fans that know the sport would see through, but they don’t.”
It didn’t take long for Davis to attempt to quash such speculation on social media, writing on X that talk of Francis Ngannou departing the PFL soon is nothing but “fake news.”
“No truth, fake news. Francis has at least one more fight with @PFLMMA. Further Francis is long-term business partner as Chairman @PFLAfrica“
It remains to be seen what lies in the immediate fighting future of Ngannou, but talk of a showdown with former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has been intensifying in recent weeks.
And in terms of MMA opposition, ex-Bellator light heavyweight kingpin Vadim Nemkov has been widely pointed to as the PFL’s best option. The Russian has gone 2-0 since moving up in weight last year, most recently submitting Timothy Johnson in the first round at PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai.
