According to a recent report, Francis Ngannou’s PFL debut earlier this month didn’t do great on pay-per-view.
‘The Predator’ returned to the cage in Saudi Arabia, competing in MMA for the first time since January 2022. Just a few months after the tragic passing of his son, Kobe, and his loss to Anthony Joshua, Francis Ngannou faced Renan Ferreira. With massive question marks around the former UFC champion, he looked excellent.
It took less than one round for Francis Ngannou to takedown, and score a knockout win over ‘Problema’. The victory was a massive one and saw him claim the PFL Superfights heavyweight title as well. For what it’s worth, the card itself had other big matchups as well. On the undercard, Cris Cyborg, Johnny Eblen, and Paul Hughes scored major wins.
While the event largely received a positive reception on social media, it apparently didn’t do too well at the box office. According to a recent report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira generated just 10,000 buys. However, it’s worth noting that this is just the number from ESPN+.
The rare PFL pay-per-view card was broadcast on DAZN as well, but that number is unknown as of now. Regardless, that buy rate is brutally low for an event of his magnitude. However, it’s not entirely shocking. While Francis Ngannou’s boxing match against Tyson Fury reportedly did well last year, his second bout against Anthony Joshua also did abysmal on pay-per-view.
However, it seems that the PFL is still pleased with how the event did. Following the event, executive Donn Davis praised the card, as well as Francis Ngannou. According to the PFL founder, their metrics found the card doing better in terms of viewership than almost every UFC event that’s happened in 2024.
That being said, if this pay-per-view number is correct, it has to be devastating. Nonetheless, Francis Ngannou is already preparing for his return to combat sports. Earlier this month, ‘The Predator’ revealed plans to fight in early 2025. However, whether that bout will be in boxing, or in the PFL, is currently unknown.
i even failed to stream it in time.
Abysmally
10k? good god
Whether or not people pay for UFC cards isn’t even consistent.
Short of a cultural phenom like hypothetically McGregor in his prime doing a one-off independent show, nobody in appreciable numbers in 2024 is paying for an off-brand MMA PPV.
hE GoT tHe BaG tHo
I didnt even know he fought.
Should have never made it a PPV
No one wants to pay to watch the guy that just got flatlined by Anthony Joshua beat up on someone no one ever heard of in some B level event.
Only way to justify signing Ngannou to a big contract. Francis was never worth the money they offered without the UFC backing the event.
Had to get the Saudis involved too lmao. Donn Davis has no fucking clue what he is doing.
Francis took these guys to the cleaners and almost ruined HW boxing with an upset over Fury lol, good job to him.
He broke the UFC yoke and got paid what he was worth. He is his own man and not beholden to anyone.
Any man will aspire to this.
He couldn’t even afford to buy his mother a house even when he was the UFC champ getting millions.
Fuck that guy.
Yeah it sucks about his son etc
Pretty sure that’s the house he got her.