Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Francis Ngannou still has a claim as the best Heavyweight alive.
Ngannou left the UFC roster as the active champion while riding a six-fight win streak filled with explosive knockouts. His high-profile free agent status was nearly unprecedented in modern MMA, and it scored him a monstrous PFL contract and at least two very lucrative boxing matches. The boxing bouts didn’t go so well, but Ngannou returned to the cage back in October 2024 with a blistering first-round knockout (watch it), proving he’s still among the best in the business.
PFL paid a pretty penny for Ngannou to compete under their banner, but having the lineal Heavyweight champion of the world on their roster is a big deal that certainly improves their negotiating position and general reputation. However, journalist John Nash recently revealed that Ngannou is rumored to have a termination cause in his contract that could be fast-approaching.
How would that affect PFL’s position in the competitive field of streaming and fight promotion? It certainly wouldn’t help!
“[PFL Founder Donn Davis] talks about ‘Our fighters are the same level as UFC.’ Really all he can name is like Francis Ngannou and Cris Cyborg,” Nash began on his ‘Hey, Not The Face’ podcast. “As the number one woman fighter of all time and Francis Ngannou as the number one Heavyweight. Then, Dakota Ditcheva as a rising star, which is true. But, I wanna know if my understanding we talked about before — I don’t know how much longer Francis Ngannou has in PFL.
“If their big sales pitch is our quality fighters and France Ngannou is one of their biggest sales pitches, and 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! 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 France 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.”
Ngannou most recently revealed his plans were to return to boxing next, possibly against Deontay Wilder. Beyond that is unknown, however, and Ngannou returning to free agency in 2025 would be quite the shocking turn of events.
Stay tuned.
Insomnia
I’ve posted plenty of fighters talking negatively about PFL, so it’s only fair to include an athlete defending the promotion too. I hope they figure things out and succeed in the long run!
The @PFLMMA have provided me the platform to completely change my life and my career in 9 months.
The staff have been absolutely amazing to deal with the entire time.
I find it disappointing that it has become a trend to hate on them.
They are the UNDERDOGS, fighting to make… https://t.co/TQCUlvwFTt
— Paul Hughes MMA (@paulhughesmma) March 14, 2025
Caio Borralho is a likely future champion and serious threat to DDP in my eyes.
Mark Hunt takes aim at Hunter Campbell:
Where are u lil dog HUNTER CAMPBELL come out come out u lil rodent u have email u thought i forgot about u didn’t u maile u remember when u forced me to fight this steroid user @alistairovereem otherwise i would lose my job and kicked me off the main event in sydney and said i… pic.twitter.com/Xg7hs5aWWL
— mark richard hunt (@markhunt1974) March 14, 2025
This is exactly what I expect when a Light Heavyweight opts to jump up a division.
Speaking of weight cutting, Aljamain Sterling does NOT miss being a Bantamweight.
Who has the best head movement in MMA history?
The times they are a-changin’.
Mike Perry and Sean Strickland sounds like a … unique … commentary dynamic.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
An elbow serves as the punctuation mark for a heavy onslaught.
One of the best times to spin is when the opponent’s back is to the fence.
Lovely shot selection, every strike serving to help set up the next connection.
Random Land
This kind of endurance challenge looks brutally mental in addition to the obvious physical challenge.
Midnight Music: Payton Talbott in a Frank Ocean music video! These are wild times!
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
