Francis Ngannou left the UFC as its reigning champion early last year, the first active champion to do so. He left despite having no other offers on the table, prepared to go back to Africa if he couldn’t find another gig. The main reason he took such a drastic step was that he just didn’t see eye to eye with the promotion over many of its business practices, including fighter pay.

This is why when the Cameroonian signed with the PFL, he had in his contract a clause that mandated his opponent get paid at least $2 million. The first recipient of Ngannou’s generous condition will be his upcoming opponent, Renan Ferreira, on the PFL’s upcoming PPV card on October 19. The Cameroonian’s efforts to look out for his fellow fighters earned him the respect of many, including Khabib Nurmagomedov’s former coach, Javier Mendez.

“I also love what Ngannou did, that he made sure anybody he fights, they have to make a certain amount of money. And that’s respect. Ngannou deserves all the respect in the world, he’s a true warrior. A humble man and a very generous man, you know. So we’re… I’m rooting for a great fight, I’m rooting for the event to happen of success and I’m definitely going to tune in,” Mendez said on his YouTube channel.

This clash will be Ngannou’s PFL debut, and his first MMA outing since he left the UFC. The PFL, of course, is using Ngannou’s star power and status as former UFC champ to try and sell enough PPVs to pay for the costs of putting it on and a little bit of profit. But for Ngannou, everything hinges on this bout. He has bagged two big paychecks with the boxing bouts against Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. However, he has not won a fight since leaving the UFC. A PFL debut loss could see the 38-year-old’s stock plummet, along with PFL’s dreams.

While the Donn Davis-founded promotion may be the UFC’s largest competitor, there is a vast gulf between number one (UFC) and number two (PFL). But with the upcoming ‘Battle of the Giants’ card, the fledgling promotion will try and change that. They certainly have Mendez’s seal of approval.

Mendez feels PFL is doing a good job marketing the Francis Ngannou card

The PFL may not quite be in the same league as the UFC yet, but it is making the right moves, and looks the most promising. After all, it bought Bellator just last year to try and consolidate the market a little bit and add to its roster. As far as the marketing department goes (which is where the UFC has been the most successful of all MMA promotions), Javier Mendez thinks the PFL is catching up to the UFC.

“I like what they’re doing. They’re focusing on two people and they’re marketing them and I love the direction they’re going in. I think, this is what they should have been doing all along, focusing on key people, stars… I think the PFL’s got it correctly and how they’re advertising it, you know. Let’s see what happens,” Mendez told fans.

The PFL is holding its second PPV card in Saudi Arabia in 2024. The Saudis right now are trying to develop their kingdom as a sports tourism hub and have been very generous and cooperative with those willing to put on fights there. That is why the PFL will probably not have to spend as much to put on its October 19 card as usual. And if it can make some money from PFL Battle of the Giants, it would at least prove that it can sell PPVs, putting it one step closer to closing the chasm with the UFC. What are your thoughts on the upcoming PFL card?