With a dominant performance, Francis Ngannou once again reminded fans why he remains ‘The Predator’ in the cage. Two years after defeating Ciryl Gane in a title defense, Ngannou made an emphatic return, knocking out Brazilian fighter Renan Ferreira. This marked Ngannou’s debut fight under the PFL banner, which he joined last year after parting ways with the UFC.

The inaugural PFL Superfights Heavyweight Championship, held in Riyadh, ended swiftly, with Ngannou securing the win in the first round. The event featured notable names, including MMA legend Cris Cyborg on the main card. However, reports suggested it failed to meet expectations. The ‘Battle of Giants’, broadcast by ESPN+ and DAZN, reportedly garnered only 10,000–12,000 pay-per-view (PPV) buys. A new report highlights the ripple effects of Ngannou’s event.

Impact of the Francis Ngannou fight

According to a tweet by boxing news channel IFN, a scheduled Misfits Boxing X Series event in Miami met with cancellation. It happened because, reportedly, DAZN aimed to avoid a clash with the Ngannou vs. Ferreira broadcast. Mams Taylor, co-president of Misfits Boxing, discussed the cancellation during an interview with Fred Beck.

The star power of their founder, KSI, was by and large absent from the ring. Nevertheless, when asked about the promotions’ performance in 2024, Taylor described it as a ‘profitable’ year. “We’ve done very well to be in a profit, to have done well, to have built some new stars, and to have put two pay-per-views on without KSI fighting,” said Taylor.

When questioned about setbacks, Taylor expressed disappointment over the canceled Miami card. Mams Taylor responded, “Well, honestly, the US card in Miami, I’m still pissed off about that.” He mentioned how their organization has never canceled an event after announcing it, but in this case, they came close.

They worked extremely hard to organize the event. It would have featured mostly debut fighters, including some high-profile names like Soulja Boy, DDG, YK Osiris, and others. The event’s cancellation disrupted other plans, such as completing a cruiserweight tournament, which would have culminated in a final in Qatar. The cancellation caused a chain reaction, delaying their expansion into the U.S. market and the inclusion of prominent U.S. names.

“I think that was thwarted, um, because of, uh, Francis Ngannou. God bless him; love that guy, great fighter, great guy, uh, but they didn’t want to—I guess they didn’t want to have us compete with them,” said the Misfits Boxing honcho. The event was also being broadcast on the same platform, DAZN. “And they didn’t want us to compete with them, which, um, I think PFL did about 10 to 12,000 pay-per-view buys for that show,” he added.

He questioned the logic, noting that the PFL event drew relatively low PPV numbers. Their event, on the other hand, had the potential for greater success.

Misfits Boxing: A Growing Legacy

Just for the context, launched in 2022 by English YouTuber-turned-boxer KSI and run by Mams Taylor, the Misfits Boxing and DAZN’s X Series has so far produced 19 editions, with eight events marking their appearance in 2023 and later in 2024 as well.

For this year, headlined by the fight between Elle Brooke and Jenny Savage, the X Series 18 took place at Newcastle upon Tyne in England. On October 14, the announcement for the next one, the X Series 19, featuring the AnEsonGib-Slim Albaher clash, followed. The Francis Ngannou-Renan Ferreira ‘Battle of Giants’ turned up five days later.

What are your takes on Francis Ngannou’s return to the cage?