16 May 2023 , 12:12
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Jake Paul has taken to social media to congratulate Francis Ngannou on joining him in signing with the PFL to make his return to the cage next year.
Paul and Ngannou will both be involved both behind the scenes and as fighters in the MMA promotion's move into pay-per-view after they have first completed their boxing endeavours this year. The YouTube star is due to face Nate Diaz this August before match-ups with either Tommy Fury or KSI ahead of his move to the cage.
Ngannou has yet to announce an opponent for his boxing debut or his return to MMA, but the promotion have guaranteed that they will pit him against "a major global MMA star". He is expected to box relatively soon, after being out of action for well over a year since his last UFC title defence.
"Francis, welcome to the PFL," Paul said in a video shared to his millions of social media followers. "Everybody, it is official, this is massive, massive, massive news in MMA, we have some huge fights on the horizon, congratulations Francis you deserve this, the best heavyweight in the f***ing world to the PFL and PFL Africa is going to be massive. So excited, let's go!"
As part of his deal with PFL, Ngannou will own a part of the company and head up their expansion into his home continent of Africa. They will run events in the region and sign fighters who are expected to be built into stars capable of completing in their global league format.
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"I am very excited for this game changing partnership with the Professional Fighters League to continue my MMA fighting career in the PFL’s PPV Super Fights Division,” Ngannou said in a press release this morning. “I believe in the PFL’s 'fighter first' culture and global vision including developing the sport in Africa.
"With that, I am also proud to announce that I will serve as Chairman of PFL Africa which will be the leading MMA organization on the continent providing great African fighters the opportunity to compete on a global platform.”
Francis Ngannou will return to action next year (Getty Images)Who do you think Francis Ngannou should fight in his PFL debut? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
PFL boss Peter Murray added: "Ngannou will anchor the PFL’s star-studded PPV Super Fight Division, serve on PFL’s Global Athlete Advisory Board, and will be Chairman and an equity owner in PFL Africa.
"Beyond working with Francis to advance the sport of MMA and scale PFL globally, I’m personally looking forward to supporting Francis in his commitment to fight for communities in Africa and around the world, inspired by his vision for the Francis Ngannou Foundation.”
PFL have been making an aggressive push to become MMA's No.2 organisation behind the UFC, and with signings such as Ngannou and Paul are likely to have booked their spot. They will return with their league format next month as they put on three shows in Atlanta, Georgia.