Dana White labored arduous to make UFC the star of his promotion.
Donn Davis, nonetheless, places fighters first and lets them management their very own destinies. That’s why the PFL founder isn’t white-knuckling the Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira primary occasion at this weekend’s “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view (PPV) Riyadh.
“The query is, are we nervous about Francis? Are we nervous in regards to the consequence? No. Skilled Fighters League is totally different from the opposite guys,” Davis mentioned on the PFL press convention scrum in Riyadh. “The opposite guys are a promoter-driven league. They’ve stakes in sure fighters profitable. They put a variety of investments in ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley profitable. They labored to ensure he wins. They invested lots in advertising hoping he’s the subsequent Conor McGregor — after which he falls flat and so they’re upset.”
Ngannou was knocked out by Anthony Joshua prior to creating his PFL debut.
“That’s not what Skilled Fighters League is about,” Davis continued. “We’re a fighter-driven league. Fighters management their future. In the event that they win, they advance. In the event that they win 4 occasions they turn out to be league champion and win one million {dollars} and the belt. I don’t management something right here. I don’t have favorites, I root for all of them. That’s what makes Skilled Fighters League so nice: fighter pushed vs. promoter pushed. It doesn’t matter who wins and loses right here to us, we root for all of them and assist all of them equally.”
Ngannou and Cris Cyborg, who battles Larissa Pacheco within the “Battle of the Giants” co-main occasion this weekend at Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, are the 2 largest (and two most costly) names on the roster. No query PFL desires a return on its funding, however a loss permits the promotion to assert it beat one of the best that UFC needed to provide.
We’ll discover out on Oct. 19 (stream it right here).
