Impact on the UFC due to Francis in PFL and boxin

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

Big cards every week? The UFC has been really lackluster for a while now imo. They lack stars, just a bunch of blah type fighters.

Every few weeks*

They have at least a semi big PPV level card every month. Last month it was the Abu Dhabi card, the month before that it was Stricklands shock upset of Izzy, the month before it was Seans upset vs Aljo, this month its the Jiri/Poatan fight and the interim HW title fight, December its Colby coming back and Paddy/Ferg, etc etc. They are set up in such a way that the needle moves at least a little every few weeks, even in quieter years when theres no Conor etc.

 

[eddi]

What do you think ?
Now that Nganou left the UFC like he did, practially won the fight against the boxing champ Fury,
and at the same time participating in the mma through PFL , how much would that have an impact on the UFC ?
Ngannou fighting in PFL will obviously attract some amount of UFC followers due to Ngannou's success in boxing.

Fighters will get bolder and start challenging dana and the ufc more, dana is trembling

 

[j18lee]

I keep hearing this talking point. I think it's important that we note, he's never fought in the PFL, and it seems increasingly likely that he'll never compete in the PFL or MMA again. He's talking about a rematch or Wilder fight a lot more than he's talking about Goltsov or Ryan Bader.

The next fight will definitely be a boxing one for Ngannou. But if he loses, and most likely he will, even if he is close, MMA is definitely on the table for him to get some wins. Then he'll switch back and forth whenever a good boxing option comes up, and depending on his level of success in boxing.

 

[ColombianFist]

none.

For every Ngannou and Mcg there's hundreds of mid tier guys without enough experience to jump successfully. and bear in mind the mid tier boxing guys have tons of practice and fight time. The current crossovers were made because both guys were champs AND there was money involved.

 

[markg171]

Here’s the thing only people with big names will try to make the jump

When people think about boxing crossovers they usually biased and only consider the most popular UFC guys and forget the HUNDREDS of mid tier guys on the roster

Like out of the 700 something people on the roster how many people really have an opportunity to make the kind of money Ngannou does in boxing?

You think someone like Neil Magny or Brenden Allen will really benefit from crossing over to boxing?

Then you gotta think most grapplers will not make the jump. They know that they will just get smoked in boxing.

Most kickboxers seem to believe there is more opportunity for them in MMA than boxing after seeing the success of Adesanya and Pereira and the MMA promotions willingness to give them shortened paths to the belt


The only people thinks change for are big name fighters who happen to be elite strikers. For everyone status quo continues

Francis also had going for him:

• retard chin
• retard power
• champ
• Fury was between fights
• So were/are the other big names
• No more fights left on his contract
• Fury underestimated him

The amount of people this actually applies to is practically nobody. Which is why in the UFC's history it's only happened a handful times.

 

[markg171]

Nobody is jumping ship to PFL. Francis isn't even in their heavyweight division, let alone their champion. He's signed to the one off "superfight PPV" division. They're going to drag somebody out close to retirement for him as it's just a one off fight.

If they were smart they'd just have their HW champ fight him and unify the titles to give additional clout to whoever wins, and then abolish their league format. Nobody gives a fuck about a league once you go down the path of making whatever fights you want like PFL is doing with Francis as that defeats the entire purpose.

 

[Cobra 03]

Most uniformed people who don't follow MMA, will only hear he was the former UFC HW champ. Few know who the PFL is. Therefore, they will see that the former UFC champ, gave the boxing HW champion, the fight of his life, and even knocked him down. Still makes the UFC look good.

 

[Cobra 03]

Big cards every week? The UFC has been really lackluster for a while now imo. They lack stars, just a bunch of blah type fighters.

I agree totally. I still watch every fight card, but there is a real lack of star power in the UFC right now. Every fight card, I recognize about 1/3 of the names on it. 5-10 years ago, I knew just about every UFC/PRIDE/ fighter. I look at SHERDOG about 5 times a week, so I try to stay up on current events. I am getting old, Maybe my memory is going away?

 

[Poirierfan]

I agree totally. I still watch every fight card, but there is a real lack of star power in the UFC right now. Every fight card, I recognize about 1/3 of the names on it. 5-10 years ago, I knew just about every UFC/PRIDE/ fighter. I look at SHERDOG about 5 times a week, so I try to stay up on current events. I am getting old, Maybe my memory is going away?

I think you just described me to a T.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Ngannou has NOT fought in the PFL yet. And according to what I read a cpl days ago. He won’t until December 2024. That’s almost 2 full years out of mma.

And do you really think people will pay for a PFL ppv because of the boxing match with Fury? That makes no sense. Especially if he fights some bum. If he fights that is.

I wouldn’t even stream an Ngannou fight in the minor leagues. Let alone pay for one.

It will have virtually zero affect on the UFC. Why would it?

 

[corrupted]

Who has better heavyweights (big emphasis on plural here) than Aspinall, Pavlovich, Stipe, Jones, Gane, Lewis, Blaydes etc etc

Francis does not overrule all that. With at least 3 of them potentially able to beat Francis: Tom, Sergey, Jon

That’s why I said they have a long way to go. But for two of the number one guys to be in another org isn’t ideal.

 

[Ezekiel 25:17]

Heres the thing. Unlike other combat sports promoters, these middle eastern guys have an endless stream of funds. They built a fucking arena in 3 months for the fight. A hundred million is fruity pebbles to these guys.

They also know that this is the beginning. Soon, they will build bigger and crazier cards with more and more name fighters. The money will talk. Itll be like WCW buying out WWE fighters in the 90s, except imagine WCW never running out of funds/backing.

UFC has shit for stars who are also very talented fighters atm. Most of the big names are gone. The newbies seem more concerned with merely being social media stars. Jon Jones is legit the only person id seriously tune in for and hes out till next year now.

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

historically, it has very little effect. affect? ufc fumbled with fedor, other fighters, and they turned out just fine, being the UFC. they're already synonymous with MMA/cage fighting. If anything PFL can make a little splash, hope they do, but they have to remain consistent, somehow build a stable of fighters that resonate with the fans/market, etc. they need to strike while the iron is hot, and come out with an unavoidable match up, in the PFL cage, while everyone is still interested and talking about it. deontay wilder sounds good.

 

[DapperDave]

This is a UFC forum.

Everyone here watches UFC.

Maybe some will watch PFL or boxing, but they will still watch UFC.

So no effect. Right?

 

[Substance Abuse]

None at all.