PFL

Jake Paul is the hottest commodity in all of combat sports, and multiple stars are vying for the opportunity to do business with the YouTuber.

After Paul defeated boxing legend Mike Tyson via unanimous decision on Friday in the first combat sports event to be streamed live on Netflix, the 27-year-old was the most popular name on social media as boxers and MMA fighters alike called him out for a future showdown.

Francis Ngannou, Ryan Garcia, KSI, and Artur Beterbiev were among those to throw their hats in the ring for a chance to square off with Paul:

While many criticized Paul for his lackluster showing against Tyson and his cherry-picked matchups, there's no denying that he's a cash cow. He previously said that he was making $40 million for Friday's fight, while Tyson reportedly took home $20 million. The fight broke numerous gate and streaming records, making Paul the biggest draw in boxing.

Paul's next move has yet to be revealed, but it can be expected that it will be another huge spectacle that will produce a major payday for all involved.

UFC president Dana White is continuing his war of words with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who was recently crowned PFL Super Fights heavyweight champion after a first-round knockout victory over Renan Ferreira this past Saturday.

When asked about Ngannou's performance in his PFL debut, White declared that the 38-year-old is "all about the money." He also claimed that Ngannou would've made more money had he stayed in the UFC.

Ngannou departed the UFC after his contract expired in January 2023. He hadn't fought in a year after suffering a knee injury when he defeated interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane in a title unification fight at UFC 270 in January 2022.

Upon leaving the UFC, Ngannou signed a multi-fight deal with PFL that allowed him to book high-profile boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. While he lost both bouts, he proved his star power in the marquee matchups that drew large audiences.

Still, White hasn't gotten over Ngannou's success outside of the UFC. He declared, "Nobody wants to fight in the f--king PFL except for Francis." However, he claimed that he was ready to cut Ngannou after he lost back-to-back fights in 2018, but someone at the UFC "begged" him to keep him on the roster. If he didn't want Ngannou in the UFC in the first place, it's not clear why it irks him that he's fighting in the PFL.

White also re-asserted the claim that Ngannou "didn't want to fight Jon Jones, that's a fact." However, it was White who said at the UFC 260 post-fight press conference in 2021 after Ngannou defeated Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title, "If I'm Jon Jones and I'm at home watching this fight, I start moving to 185 pounds."

When asked further at the time if a fight between Ngannou and Jones was a possibility, White responded, "Listen, I could sit here all day and tell you, what 'Show me the money' means. You can say you want to fight someone, but do you really want to?" He was referencing a tweet from Jones, indicating that it was Jones who was stopping the fight from happening.

Now, Jones is scheduled to defend the heavyweight title against Miocic in the main event of UFC 309 on Nov. 16. It will be Jones' first fight since winning the title in March 2023, as he was recovering from a torn labrum.

For his part, Ngannou hasn't dug too deep when going back and forth with White, simply claiming that he left the UFC to gain more control over his career, which is exactly what he got with the PFL.

"The guy who controls the narrative can say what he wants," Ngannou said at a news conference in August. "But that's not the narrative. I requested the Jon Jones fight. But I didn't want it to be a trap to get into a new deal with the UFC that I didn't want."

The next chapter of Francis Ngannou's MMA career got off to a strong start as The Predator earned the PFL's Heavyweight Superfight Championship with a first-round TKO win over Renan Ferreira at the PFL's pay-per-view card from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

After the fight, Ngannou dedicated the win to his 15-month-old son Kobe, who died in April.

"Without Kobe, we wouldn't be here tonight," Ngannou said. "I hope they can remember his name."

Ngannou wasted little time in showing that he remembered he can wrestle in MMA.

That early takedown marked the beginning of the end for Ferreira. Ngannou maintained top position, fought off a triangle choke attempt from his opponent before getting Ferreira's back and going for the TKO.

He rained down strikes until the referee was forced to call the bout.

The win marked the first time that Ngannou has fought in MMA since his contract with the UFC expired in early 2022. The former heavyweight champion entered free agency after his title defense against Ciryl Gane.

Ngannou ultimately landed with the PFL. Part of that decision was because the organization was willing to allow him to pursue his dream of boxing.

The power puncher went on to fight boxing star Tyson Fury to a split-decision before getting knocked out by Anthony Joshua.

The second loss prompted him to return to the cage. That's where he has made his name, but he hasn't ruled out a return to boxing, noting that he feels like he has a few fights in both sports before it's time for him to hand up the gloves.

"I have an appetite to go back into boxing," Ngannou told Mike Bohn in an interview for MMA Junkie (h/t A.K. Jones of DAZN. "For sure, I still have a couple fights in both left. I just turned 38, so I will say my retirement when I start getting around 41 or 42. It could be 40, but this is just in an exceptional case. This time I think I really have to enjoy my time inside the octagon and inside the ring, and then have my last dance and go home."

Ngannou's loss to Anthony Joshua was a definitive statement that Ngannou is a long way from competing with the elite in boxing. The Fury performance was impressive but he isn't exactly known for his consistency.

This victory showed that Ngannou is still capable of putting on elite performances against top heavyweights. Ferreira hasn't won in the UFC, but he did win the PFL's heavyweight tournament and knocked out Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader.

The question will quickly shift to whether PFL can find another challenge for Ngannou that will bring attention to the promotion.

The Professional Fighters League announced Wednesday that Francis Ngannou will make his promotional debut against PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira on Oct. 19.

Ngannou vs. Ferreira will headline the pay-per-view on ESPN+, while Cris Cyborg will face Larissa Pacheco in the co-main event.

Although Ngannou signed with PFL in May 2023, he has not competed in an MMA bout since his final fight with UFC in January 2022.

The 37-year-old Ngannou made his UFC debut in 2015 and went on to become one of the best heavyweights in the history of the promotion.

After losing back-to-back fights to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis in 2018, Ngannou won each of his final six UFC bouts, including beating Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title in 2021.

Ngannou's final UFC fight was a win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. That bout marked the end of Ngannou's contract, and when he and UFC could not come to terms on a new deal, he vacated the heavyweight title.

Rather than jumping right back into the cage, Ngannou tried his hand at boxing following his UFC departure.

In his first professional boxing match, Ngannou pushed Tyson Fury to the limit, losing by split decision in somewhat controversial fashion.

At the time, Fury was undefeated and was the reigning WBC world heavyweight champion, although he went on to lose to Oleksandr Usyk in a unification bout in May.

Given the success of his first fight, Ngannou boxed again, taking on former world heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua. That outing was nowhere near as competitive, as Joshua beat Ngannou by second-round knockout.

Ngannou will be in a more comfortable and familiar environment in PFL, and he will have an opportunity to make a massive impact in his first PFL bout.

Ferreira, 34, is a 6'8" heavyweight from Brazil who beat Denis Goltsov in the PFL heavyweight title tournament final last year. He followed that up with a win over Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in just 21 seconds in February.

All told, Ferreira is 13-3 with 11 wins by way of knockout during his career, whereas Ngannou is 17-3 with 12 knockouts.