PFL Chairman Donn Davis expects the Francis Ngannou vs. Rennan Ferreira fight to cost more than the whole production at UFC 306.
The fight takes place on October 19. Ngannou has his first MMA fight since stopping Cyril Gane at UFC 270 in 2022. Ngannou left the UFC last year after contract talks broke down and signed a deal with the PFL. He has had two boxing fights, facing Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
The first one against Fury was close, as he lost out on a split decision after having dropped the Gypsy King. The bout with Joshua was less competitive, as he was knocked out in round two. Now, Ngannou will make his PFL debut. There is mass anticipation over this fight to see how The Predator will fare after not having had an MMA fight for so long.
He has also had life-changing events during this period. The Fury and Joshua fights have secured his financial future, earning him more than his entire UFC career. But he did suffer the death of his 15-month-old son Kobe. This was a difficult setback as there were question marks over whether Ngannou would fight again. He has also been appointed as Chairman of PFL Africa, as the play-offs will start next year.
The UFC is coming off a historic event at UFC 306, which took place from The Sphere. This was the first time that a fight event happened at the arena, which was headlined by Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. The card had ten fights, as opposed to the usual 12, as Dana White wanted to focus on quality rather than quantity.
PFL Chairman Donn Davis Reacts
The event cost a total of $20 million. While it was a mass expense, it set a new UFC live gate record of $22 million. This surpassed the previous record set by Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor when they faced off at UFC 205 in 2016. Davis expects the PFL event to cost more, given that fighters earn more and because of the increasing number of fights on the card.
“First of all, I believe this is the biggest event possible in MMA because of the [main and] co-main event for this year, 2024. That makes it, certainly, the biggest thing for the PFL. The UFC is the bigger company, and we’re putting on the bigger event. So, this is a big deal for us… We want to show fans, that we can put on just as good, or better of a product than anyone in the world.
“That’s metric number one. Metric number two, we want to do okay financially. Just okay financially. The cost of this fight is astronomical. Dana White talks about his $20 million Sphere event, this is more. Fighters here make more. The card here has more big fights coming. This cost to us is more than his cost to the Sphere,” Davis said
While it may cost more, the UFC is a bigger brand globally. It has developed a reputation for making the biggest fights and having a sustainable model. But if the PFL puts on big and competitive fights, it will close the gap. Dana White reacted to the news and wished the PFL the best.
Dana White react to the PFL’s ambitious plans for the Francis Ngannou vs. Rennan Ferreira fight
“I didn’t even know who he was until you said it. Sounds like a good idea. Good for him. Good luck, hope it all works out,” White stated