Francis Ngannou slammed by MMA insider for skipping PFL Africa: "UFC dodged a bullet?"

Francis Ngannou’s absence from the PFL Africa debut event sparked criticism from longtime MMA voices who believe the former UFC champion is spreading himself too thin. The heavyweight star had signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) as a central figure in their African expansion plan.

However, he chose not to attend the promotion’s debut event. He later said that African fighters being placed on prelims didn't sit well with him. These comments raised doubts about his alleged lack of business understanding, according to several analysts.

Former UFC lightweight fighter Josh Thomson argued that Ngannou’s frustration with card placement is not in line with how fight promotions are built. Shedding light on Ngannou's comments in a recent episode of the WEIGHIN IN podcast, Thomson said:

"Do you believe the UFC dodged a bullet by letting Francis Ngannou go?... This lets me know that he has no concept of how you build a star. He has no concept of how a promotion is run. He has no concept on how you make these African fighters that he's trying to prop up by putting them on the main card. If they didn’t have great performances, which they did by the way, then you have a bunch of fighters that no one knows fighting above names that are already established."

Meanwhile, former UFC official John McCarthy added:

"You don’t sit there and try to make a bunch of African fighters stars in that moment... For Francis to be in that position, this all comes down to the whole thing where you want to be part of the promotion, you want to be in charge of PFL Africa, then stop fighting because you can’t do both. There’s no way. If you want to be a fighter, put all that to the side. Your job is to fight."

Check out Josh Thomson and John McCarthy's comments below (1:30:50):

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Francis Ngannou explains absence from PFL Africa debut

Francis Ngannou addressed his absence from the PFL Africa debut by shedding light on his disappointment with how the event was structured. He said he had worked for two years to help bring the promotion to Africa and expected the launch to feel like a milestone moment.

Instead, he felt the card was treated more like an undercard, with African fighters placed on prelims rather than given the spotlight. Sharing his thoughts in a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Ngannou said:

“The PFL Africa was good, the business part of it is good... As far as my reaction, I don’t think it was something that he should have bring out there. At least if it was me I wouldn’t keep it out there because then we have to bring up context like why didn’t I come there... I wasn’t very okay with the first PFL Africa event seeming to be like an undercard. We worked a lot for the PFL Africa, but I hoped the debut would at least have its glory, its moment."