Randy Couture thinks Ante Delija would make a great debut opponent for Francis Ngannou in the PFL.
Ngannou signed with PFL and is expected to box first, then make his MMA return in mid-2024. The former UFC heavyweight champion has been unstoppable as of late – including a recent knockout win over the consensus greatest heavyweight of all time, Stipe Miocic.
But whom should Ngannou (17-3) face in his promotional debut? Couture says 2022 PFL heavyweight champ Delija (23-5) is a fight he’d definitely watch.
“Ante Delija won last year’s championship in stellar fashion and he was very highly touted when we signed him,” Couture told MMA Junkie Radio. “He struggled with the format early on, and I think he sorted it out.
“He figured out what he needed to do in his training, his preparation and his game planning to get through a whole regular season and make it to the playoffs and a championship, and that’s a fight I’d love to see. He’s a game fighter. He’s a solid, well-rounded fighter. Francis Ngannou and Ante Delija, that would be a great fight. I would watch that fight, and I would pay a pay-per-view to watch that fight.”
Fabricio Werdum and Ben Rothwell already bid to fight Ngannou, and Couture expects plenty of other heavyweights to put their hands up after “The Predator” negotiated a guaranteed $1 million purse for his opponents.
With PFL striking a mega deal with Ngannou and its continuously running season format, Couture sees PFL impacting all the other promotions.
“There’s certainly a lot of heavyweights coming up in free agency that realize if they’re good enough and have the credentials to get into a fight with Francis, they’re guaranteed a better purse than anybody else is probably ever gonna offer them,” Couture said. “Which is a really, really unique and interesting thing that Francis negotiated for in his contract for sure. I think there’s a ripple effect. We already got the attention of a lot of the other promotions.
“Why did shortly after we started giving away million-dollar purses for our championship final every year did all of a sudden the grand prix launch in Bellator, all with million-dollar purses through their format? Obviously we’ve got guys like Jake Paul, certainly Jon Jones is still chirping about Francis and wanting to fight Francis. Whether or not that fight is going to happen, I think there’s a ripple effect.”
https://www.mmanews.com/news/randy-couture-dismisses-pfl-out-of-business-ngannou
Randy Couture Dismisses Notion PFL Will Go Out Of Business After Big Money Promise
UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture feels those rushing to question the PFL for its big spending should be patient with the league.
Ngannou shocked MMA when he announced he was signing with the PFL on a multi-fight deal. The contract with the PFL will also allow Ngannou to box and be a key presence on the league’s fighter advisory board.
Despite the shock and awe surrounding Ngannou’s career move, not everyone has been impressed with Ngannou and the PFL’s collaboration. Some, including UFC President Dana White, feel the PFL’s big gamble on Ngannou won’t pay off the way they envision.
PFL Owner Makes Bold Comparison In Response To Dana White’s Disparaging Comments On Their Business Strategy
Donn Davis certainly seems to think the PFL is starting to gain some ground on the UFC.
PFL founder Donn Davis has responded to Dana White’s comments about his promotion’s business model by comparing the UFC to now-defunct video rental store Blockbuster.
The UFC remains MMA’s leading organization by a significant margin, but there’s never been a period in the sport’s history that featured more significant promotions for fans to pay attention to.
Previous major competitors such as Strikeforce, PRIDE and WEC were all eventually bought by the UFC and helped turn it into the wildly-successful organization it is now, but promotions like Bellator, ONE Championship and PFL have all found solid footing in the sport’s modern landscape.
The PFL made a significant splash recently when the promotion secured the signature of Francis Ngannou, who was arguably the most coveted free agent in MMA history after the former heavyweight champion parted ways with the UFC earlier this year.
Dana White’s Comments Prompt Comparision From PFL Founder
Dana White was asked about the PFL following the conclusion of UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Hill, and the UFC President’s disparaging remarks prompted an interesting comparison from Donn Davis.
“'Netflix is not even on our radar screen in terms of competition.’ Blockbuster CEO 2008. ‘What PFL is doing makes no sense to me.’ UFC President 2023.”
Davis’ claim is a bold one considering the dominance the UFC still holds over the MMA landscape, but the PFL’s signing of Ngannou is certainly a promising development in terms of fighters exploring their options with other promotions.
Recently released details regarding the UFC’s finances over the past few years indicate that there’s room for many fighters to be making more money, but it remains to be seen if the PFL and/or other promotions are able to lure major free agents like Ngannou away from the UFC.
PFL’s 2023 season is already well underway, and despite a number of failed drug tests from fighters that have already competed this year the promotion is set to hold its next regular season event on June 8. Ngannou unfortunately won’t be debuting for the promotion until 2024, but combat sports fans may at least get to see “The Predator” make his pro boxing debut before then.
AND The Immortal
It’s hard to deny that Francis Ngannou won in free agency after he left the UFC as heavyweight champion before ultimately signing a lucrative deal with the PFL. He secured numerous concessions regarding his career as well as total autonomy regarding any future crossover fights in boxing.
That said, UFC president Dana White criticized the deal and the PFL’s overall business strategy when addressing Ngannou this past weekend while stating “what they’re doing makes no sense to me” and adding “I know how this story ends” after watching other rival companies rise and fall in the past. On the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, Matt Brown reacted to White’s comments while adding his own context that he’s heard the PFL is going all-in with this signing, which is why the promotion was willing to sink such a huge investment into Ngannou.
“I’ve heard through the grapevine a little bit that’s what the PFL is after now,” Brown explained. “They’re like ‘we’re going to go big or we’re going to go home.’ I can’t confirm this, I didn’t hear it from a PFL insider or anything but I did hear it from reputable source that they’re going to go big or they’re going home. They’re going for it all. That’s what it sounds like. When you hear a deal like that, because I heard it long before we heard about this deal [with Francis], and it kind of makes you think that’s the case. They’re just going to throw all their eggs in the baskets and they’re going to go for it.
“That’s kind of what you’ve got to do in this game at some point. The UFC’s got the control. They’re the top dogs. They’re the money makers. You can sit around and be second or third place for years and years, but until you take that risk, you take that chance, you’re going to stay there. I think that’s what they’re doing. That’s kind of what I’ve gathered. They were basically willing to bend however they needed to, to get Francis. Francis took advantage of that and it may very well work out for him.”
While Brown had nothing but praise for Ngannou betting big on himself in free agency, which led to the deal with the PFL, he also understands the inherent risk that the promotion is taking.
Despite his dominance in the heavyweight division, Ngannou has never been considered a massive draw, at least compared to some of the other stars in the UFC, and he also competes in arguably the most volatile and unpredictable division in the sport.
It would also appear that history might be against the PFL considering the long list of MMA promotions that have come and gone over the years when trying to breakthrough and find success when going up against a juggernaut like the UFC. Once upon a time, White even famously posed with a mocked tombstone etched with the names of all the rival organizations that failed to topple the UFC.
“They took a gamble and we’re going to see if it pays off,” Brown said about the PFL. “I think the over/under looks pretty bad for them. That’s about all it comes down to, right? It kind of looks bad for them.
“Good job to Francis. How much respect do you have to have for that guy? He becomes UFC champion, fought out his contract, goes and gets a deal like that, we’ve got to give mad credit to this guy and we hope the best for him but we’re not businessmen in terms of running MMA promotions but it certainly doesn’t look good for PFL here.”
Even if the PFL is taking a massive risk with this deal, Brown still commends them for at least taking the chance to go after somebody like Ngannou and gambling on his ability to draw the kind of audience that will justify his paycheck.
There are no guarantees when it comes to promoting in MMA and the PFL has obviously thrown all its chips on the table to back Ngannou as a game-changing superstar.
“I don’t know if that’s the best way to do it or not but they’re taking the risk,” Brown said. “It’s a business that they’re running and they’re going for it. You’ve got to respect that, too. I don’t know how they got the cash. I don’t know how they got the investors. That’s the funny thing like what they sell these guys on? What were they telling these investors that convinced them? But they did it so more power to them.
“Francis is going to get paid. That’s the silver lining. Whether the PFL lasts, whether this works out for them, who knows. Francis is getting his money and some fighter, who knows who, but somebody is going to make $2 million also [to fight him]. Maybe Junior dos Santos, I don’t know. The fighters are getting paid so Francis wins on that end but how the PFL comes out of this on top, I’m not so sure about that.”
UFC Hall of Famer and top PFL analyst Randy Couture says the PFL isn’t done making big-money moves in 2023.
The PFL is on a roll after announcing the signing of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. After a lengthy free agency, Ngannou turned down more lucrative offers to continue his MMA career in the PFL.
The signing took place just days away from the return of the PFL regular season in Atlanta, GA. Fighters across the league’s divisions will battle for a postseason spot to keep their $1 million dream alive.
After a legendary career in the cage, Couture has made a name for himself in the PFL. He’s one of the top voices of the PFL’s SmartCage alongside Sean O’Connell and Kenny Florian.
The PFL continues to expand worldwide, and Couture will be a key part of attempting to make that happen.
Randy Couture Details Upcoming Meeting Between PFL & Saudi Arabia
“I leave tomorrow for Saudi Arabia,” Couture said. “Peter Murray’s gonna be with us, as one of the bosses to close the deal. Saudi Arabia and that area of the world is looking to bring more culture to that region. That’s why the World Cup was just there in Qatar, they’re just really trying to bring more things there and the Saudis have set their sights on MMA and the PFL. We’re gonna go over and hopefully close the deal to look at opening a PFL Middle East and starting to develop some talent and some opportunities for folks in that region in the sport.”
Although the chances are slim, Randy Couture believes the UFC and PFL could find a way to make a massive cross-promotion fight between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou happen.
Couture, a former two-division UFC champion turned PFL commentator, knows that creating a cross-promotional fight is about getting everyone on the same page. While one key piece is already in place, completing the entire puzzle would be a difficult challenge.
“The TV part of that, the network and exposure part of that is solved because both entities are on ESPN,” Couture told MMA Junkie Radio. “I think the landscape of our sport and the contracts, the restrictive contracts in our sport, are gonna prevent that.”
UFC and PFL have events that air live on ESPN channels and stream on ESPN+. The two promotions would have no problems when it comes to that aspect of the negotiations for a mega heavyweight fight like Jones vs. Ngannou. However, considering the UFC standing as the leader in MMA, it would be on Dana White and company to agree to terms with the PFL in order to make it all happen.
As we’ve seen in the past, the UFC knows their place in the market, and isn’t keen on sharing the marquee when it comes to promoting fights
When heavyweight great Fedor Emelianenko was in the prime of his career, negotiations between the two parties failed because the UFC’s unwillingness to work with Emelianeko’s promotion. The UFC has shown they will pass on promoting a major heavyweight bout if it means they have to share some of the promotional spotlight.
“The Fedor fight would have happened if the UFC would have agreed to a co-promotion with M-1 Global,” Couture said. “They had agreed on money. What they hadn’t agreed on was doing any co-promotion, and the UFC told them to take a hike.”
Considering White’s recent disparaging comments about Ngannou’s new contract with the PFL and Jones taking derogatory shots at Ngannou at seemingly every opportunity, there would likely have to be an earth-shattering, can’t-miss offer from the PFL in order to get the UFC to play ball. On the other side, Ngannou wants the fight, and Couture believes the PFL is in a prime position to work with the UFC to make it happen.
“I don’t think the PFL has an ego problem like that,” Couture said. “I think they would be happy to entertain a co-promotion between another promoter and themselves to make a big fight like that happen, certainly in the pay-per-view model they’re getting ready to roll out. So, I don’t think it’s out of the question there.”