PFL

A highly anticipated heavyweight showdown is set to go down this fall.

According to a release issued Tuesday, a boxing match between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has been scheduled for Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The fight will take place "in a regulation boxing ring under the standard boxing rules."

Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou will take place “under the official rules of professional boxing, with 3 judges ringside adopting the 10-point must system. Both fighters however are promising to meet in the middle of the ring, go to war and win by knockout in devastating fashion,”… pic.twitter.com/VJkIiZJvZb

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 11, 2023

ESPN's Mike Coppinger first reported the fight had been agreed to. MMA journalist Ariel Helwani initially reported on Friday that a fight between Fury and Ngannou was "expected to be announced very soon."

It sounds like Ngannou and his camp are excited about getting the fight agreement done:

“He defied the odds once again. We did it.”

- Ngannou’s manager @Marquel_Martin on getting the Tyson Fury fight done.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 11, 2023

After his contract with UFC came to an end earlier this year, Ngannou signed a lucrative deal with the PFL in May that allowed him to also pursue boxing fights. He said during an interview with The DAZN MMA Show that "if it was up to him" his next fight would be a boxing match against Fury or Deontay Wilder.

Ngannou hasn't fought since January 2022 when he retained his heavyweight title with a unanimous-decision win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. He underwent knee surgery following that fight and his UFC contract expired this January.

Upon his departure from the UFC, Ngannou was called out by Fury for a fight that would feature a mixed ruleset between boxing and MMA. The two of them have been circling each other for months, and now they will finally get to settle their differences. While the details of their fight deals have not been revealed, it can be expected that they both will receive a significant paycheck.

"We've had a lot of offers from the Middle East at the moment to host that fight over the summer," Fury recently said on the Out of Interest podcast (h/t Anton Tabuena of Bloody Elbow). "[The purse is] private information, but let's say it's 10, 20, 30, f--king 50 times the amount [UFC fighters make]."

A fight between Fury and Ngannou is sure to draw a ton of interest and excitement from fight fans. Ngannou is known for his devastating knockouts in MMA, while Fury is arguably the most skilled heavyweight boxer because of his elusiveness and accuracy. It will be interesting to see how things play out when they meet in the ring.

Lackluster fights are not uncommon in mixed martial arts, but it's wildly uncommon for the fighters to be punished for those instances.

That changed on Saturday morning, as ESPN's Brett Okamoto reported that the PFL has suspended former lightweight champions Natan Schulte and Raush Manfio from the 2023 playoffs due to their "substandard" fight at PFL 6 on Friday night in Atlanta.

"Last night, Natan Schule and Raush Manfio did not meet the standards which all PFL fighters agree to uphold in competition," the PFL stated. "All fighters in their PFL fight agreements agree to use their 'best efforts ... skills and ability as a professional athlete to compete ... and defeat any opponent.' It was very clear that Natan and Raush did not meet that contractual standard in yesterday's bout."

Schulte, who won the fight by unanimous decision, was replaced by Shane Burgos in the playoffs. Burgos, who lost his PFL debut in April, defeated Yamato Nishikawa by unanimous decision in Friday's event but was on the outside looking in due to his low slot in the lightweight standings. He reacted to Saturday's news on social media, saying, "Everything happens for a reason."

Shane Burgos' reaction on getting into the #PFLPlayoffs after PFL suspends Natan Schulte and Raush Manfio.

(Burgos IG) pic.twitter.com/XcCqE6HxGm

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) June 24, 2023

Friday's fight between Schulte (25-5-1) and Manfio (17-4) was unique in that it pitted two longtime friends against one another. Okamoto noted that they are training partners at American Top Team in Florida who have lived together in the past and are godfathers to each other's children. They even cut weight together and spent a lot of time with one another during fight week.

The result was a fight that "barely resembled a light sparring match," per Okamoto. It's not the first time a fight has lacked excitement, but penalizing that in this way is rarely seen in the fight game.

Not sure how to feel about this, tbh.

Was the fight lackluster? Felt like a glorified sparring session btwn 2 friends who didn’t want to hurt each other. But this is a very slippery slope. Where’s the line? In other sports, good win or not you survive and advance. This could not… https://t.co/MPdiYbRW33

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 24, 2023

With Burgos now in the PFL playoffs, he will face top-seeded lightweight Clay Collard in the semifinals, while Olivier Aubin-Mercier will go up against Bruno Miranda.

Francis Ngannou responded to critical comments from UFC president Dana White after he secured his return to mixed martial arts with the Professional Fighters League.

During his press conference after UFC Vegas 73 ended, White told reporters that Ngannou's PFL contract "makes no sense to me." He also said the former UFC heavyweight champion "wants to take zero risks" and "doesn't want to take any chances."

Those comments caught the attention of Ngannou, who said he's "finally getting paid and respected":

What is your problem with me?

1. I completed my contract, was a free agent, and chose to walk away. you didn’t release me

2. I hate taking risks? that’s why I defended my title to fulfill my contract with no acl or mcl?

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) May 21, 2023

I’m finally getting paid and respected, and have a deal that’s fair and equal for all parties. Why are you so against me being free and happy?

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) May 21, 2023

According to Bloody Elbow's John S. Nash, Ngannou is signed on for potentially two or three fights with the PFL and will collect a "high seven-figure" purse for each bout. He also received a number of incentives, including a split of the profits from his events a chairman title for the PFL's eventual expansion into Africa.

Ngannou took a bit of a risk by leaving the UFC and setting such high demands for any interested suitors. The bet paid off both figuratively and literally as the PFL appear to have given him everything he wanted.

White's criticism of the situation is puzzling to say the least.

Any athlete in combat sport has a clear incentive to get as much guaranteed money as possible. Not to mention, Ngannou is among the many UFC fighters who have probably failed to receive their true worth thanks to the company's pay structure. It stands to reason he'd want to make up the difference in some form.

This isn't really the UFC or White's concern anyway because they aren't the ones signing Ngannou's checks now. They might have some skin in the game if some of the 36-year-old does provide some inspiration to his former peers, though.

If Ngannou proves to be a wise investment for the PFL, then it stands to reason the promotion could be even more aggressive in splashing the cash for marquee names. Because a rising tide lifts all boats, there could be a domino effect as well if fighters under the UFC banner are emboldened to mirror his previously firm stance in contract negotiations.

Dana White is not impressed with Francis Ngannou's historic PFL contract.

The UFC president ripped Ngannou and the PFL for the deal, which provides the former UFC heavyweight champion equity in the company and a seat on its board of directors. Ngannou was also able to guarantee his opponents at least $2 million per fight.

"Based on what I know about the deal, which is not much, it makes no sense to me," White told reporters Saturday. "You're going to pay a guy not to fight for a year, and it's already been like [14] months. He's fought three times in the last three years.

"It's just not what we do here. It's not what we do. And the day that we released him, I knew exactly what was going to happen. Francis wants to take zero risks, doesn't want to take any chances, and he obviously didn't want to take a chance with Jon Jones — and after we saw what happened with Ciryl Gane, I don't blame him. I think the outcome would've been exactly the same, and I'm sure most of you do and I'm sure Francis does too."

"It makes no sense to me."

Dana White criticizes Francis Ngannou's deal with the PFL. The UFC boss also said Ngannou doesn't want to take any risks, especially against Jon Jones. 👀

More: https://t.co/0n7v4Wcqf6 pic.twitter.com/MtrTLV3CGe

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) May 21, 2023

Ngannou will not debut in the PFL until next year as he pursues his professional boxing debut later in 2023. The 36-year-old is yet to have a date set or an opponent for his foray into boxing, but he's set his sights on the likes of Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder.

White ripped into Ngannou's attempt at becoming a boxer, saying it's a "gimmick" fight and indicating he does not feel there's a Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather level of interest in seeing him make his boxing debut.

"PFL is going to pay this guy to train for a boxing match that may not even happen and that they might not even be involved in. How does that make any sense?" White said. "It doesn't make sense to me. Anthony Joshua called it a gimmick fight this week. When asked about that fight, he's like, 'I'm focused on fighting the best guys in the world. I'm not interested in a gimmick fight right now.' And that's one of the big problems with boxing right now, is it's all about these gimmicky type fights, and that's just not what I do here. It's not what I do."

Ngannou left UFC in January as the reigning heavyweight champion, becoming the first title holder to depart since BJ Penn in 2004. It's clear based on his comments there's still some hard feelings from White's direction.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou signed with the PFL on Tuesday, and he discussed the deal during an interview with The DAZN MMA Show.

Ngannou addressed a slew of topics and he revealed that "if it was up to him" his next fight would be a boxing match against Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder. He also said he's open to the possibility of fighting current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones "if that could get worked out," per TSN's Aaron Bronsteter.

Francis Ngannou did an interview with The DAZN MMA Show.

Some points👇 pic.twitter.com/agVWjX1Ms8

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) May 16, 2023

Ngannou hasn't fought since defeating Ciryl Gane by unanimous decision at UFC 270 in January 2022 to retain his heavyweight title. He underwent knee surgery after that fight and he was released from his UFC contract in January of this year.

"The past few months have been a very interesting time to understand and see the landscape, but I'm very excited about this deal with the PFL because they basically showed what I was expecting," Ngannou told the New York Times' Emmanuel Morgan. "They didn't just show up as a promotion that was looking for a fighter, but really came as a partner that sees more value in you as a person."

Upon his release from his UFC contract, Ngannou was called out by Fury for a potential fight with a mixed ruleset between boxing and MMA. In March, Ngannou told TMZ Sports that he and his team were considering a two-fight deal against Wilder.

After Jones claimed the vacant UFC heavyweight title with a win over Gane that same month, he took a shot at the former champ by calling him "a big ol' p---y" in his post-fight press conference. He also took another subliminal shot at Ngannou after his PFL deal was announced on Tuesday:

Calling yourself the baddest man on the planet from across the street, who does that? Lol

— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) May 16, 2023

Then cross the street

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) May 16, 2023

As part of his deal, Ngannou was named the chairman of PFL Africa, which Morgan described as "an expansion initiative to produce events on the continent." PFL chief executive Peter Murray said the company could begin holding events in the continent by 2025.

The 36-year-old said during his interview that PFL Africa "is the thing that gets him most pumped up" and the company is committed to help grow the sport of MMA in the region.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou announced Tuesday he has signed with the Professional Fighters League.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗜𝗦 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘! Welcome to the Professional Fighters League @francis_ngannou pic.twitter.com/WPxuQtJtTn

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 16, 2023

"The past few months have been a very interesting time to understand and see the landscape, but I'm very excited about this deal with the PFL because they basically showed what I was expecting," he said to the New York Times' Emmanuel Morgan. "They didn't just show up as a promotion that was looking for a fighter, but really came as a partner that sees more value in you as a person."

Ngannou is looking to return to MMA competition in mid-2024.

Francis Ngannou did an interview with The DAZN MMA Show.

Some points👇 pic.twitter.com/agVWjX1Ms8

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) May 16, 2023

Bloody Elbow's John S. Nash provided some insight into the fighter's PFL contract. He's committed for two or three fights and assured of receiving a "high seven-figure" purse for each bout.

"Multiple sources that had knowledge of his negotiations and the agreement has informed Bloody Elbow that this deal would not only make him one of the highest-paid fighters but also give him an almost unheard of level of freedom and favorable terms," Nash wrote.

Among the perks for Ngannou is a split of the profits for his events and the ability for him to have his own sponsorship deals spotlighted in the cage.

As part of his deal with the promotion, the 36-year-old will be chairman for PFL Africa. Morgan described the venture as "an expansion initiative to produce events on the continent."

PFL chief executive Peter Murray said PFL Africa is tentatively scheduled to launch in 2024 and that the company could be staging events on the continent by 2025.

Ngannou will also have the opportunity to schedule boxing events outside of the PFL umbrella.

Tyson Fury called out Ngannou in January, and Ngannou told TMZ Sports in March his representatives were weighing a fight with Deontay Wilder.

The 6'4", 257-pound heavyweight hasn't fought since earning a unanimous decision over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. In March 2021, he knocked out Stipe Miocic to become the UFC heavyweight champion.

Ngannou eventually became locked in a contract dispute with the UFC, which finally released him in January. That left many fans wondering what his next step would be.

He's the second marquee signing for the PFL this year after it added Jake Paul in January.

Former UFC star Thiago Santos was one of nine fighters in the Professional Fighters League temporarily suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Friday.

According to ESPN's Marc Raimondi, the fighters will have their suspensions extended at a meeting Wednesday in Las Vegas, meaning they likely won't be able to compete during the 2023 PFL regular season, which starts in June.

While the NSAC did not publicly give a reason for the suspensions, the PFL released the following statement on the matter:

"PFL has been notified by the Nevada State Athletic Commission that several fighters who competed in PFL 2023 Regular Season events this past April have been temporarily suspended until further review by the Commission. The PFL has a zero-tolerance policy related to the usage of banned substances and complies with U.S. State Athletic Commission requirements. Further, as the PFL moves towards the highest level of testing and compliance in the sport, PFL is engaged with USADA on the implementation of its athlete anti-doping program."

Along with Santos, light heavyweights Will Fleury, Krysztof Jotko and Mohammad Fakhreddine have been suspended, as have heavyweights Bruno Cappelozza, Rizvan Kuniev and Cezar Ferreira. The other two suspended fighters are reportedly featherweights Alejandro Flores and Daniel Torres.

Santos, 39, owns a career MMA record of 22-12 with 15 wins by way of knockout. He fought 24 times for UFC, starting in 2013 and culminating last year.

He notably took Jon "Bones" Jones to the scorecards in a UFC light heavyweight title bout at UFC 239 in 2019, with Jones winning by split decision.

Santos lost five of his final six UFC fights before signing with the Professional Fighters League. He made his PFL debut last month, losing to Rob Wilkinson by unanimous decision.

Cappelozza is also a significant loss for the PFL since he won its world heavyweight title in 2021.

As a result of the suspensions, several changes have been made to the PFL season with cards scheduled for June 8, 16 and 23 in Atlanta.

It’s the holiday season. Families are reconnecting.

And after a round of storytelling, a rousing game of catch or a stint baking cookies in the kitchen, nearly every kid emerges thinking his or her grandfather is the greatest.

Biaggio Ali Walsh has one up on them. Because his grandfather really was.

“The Greatest,” that is. Or, in plainer terms, Muhammad Ali.

But to Ali Walsh, he was just Grandpa.

“Every Thanksgiving, we'd go and the whole family would get together and we'd have Thanksgiving at his house every year,” he told Bleacher Report. “We would hang out with him because he had this really big, nice chair like the massage chairs. He would just chill in there.”

“We would do magic tricks with him and watch classic movies, like old Western movies, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. We'd watch the old Dracula and stuff like that. It's moments like that that I remember the most, and I think they're awesome.”

Now 24, Ali Walsh was born nearly two decades after Ali’s final fight—a loss to Trevor Berbick in 1981—and said he’d reached elementary school before he began realizing just how famous his relative had been.

In fact, he said only a few close friends were aware of the link until he was well into his teens.

His mother, Rasheda Ali, was born during the three-time heavyweight champ’s second marriage.

“We would go to the movies with him, and we would go to restaurants. We'd go out with him,” he said. “When we'd enter the restaurant, one person would notice who came in and then the whole restaurant would stand up and start clapping. As a little kid, I would see this stuff and I would think, ‘Dang, my grandfather is very important.’ I don't know why or how, but he is.

“In third grade, I did a project on him just to get to know a little bit more and why he is who he is, and it still didn't really click. I only looked at him as my grandfather. I think when I was in high school is when I started to really see the impact that he made. Any boxing gym I would go to, he'd be on the wall. We went to the Orange Bowl when we were little kids and the whole crowd was chanting, ‘Ali, Ali, Ali.’”

Ali Walsh was 17 years old when his grandfather died in 2016, at age 74, about a year before his own graduation from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, which preceded a two-stop college football career at the universities of California and Nevada/Las Vegas.

Not surprisingly, he was a fan of boxing and mixed martial arts and often found himself dabbling in MMA to keep weight down between football seasons. A few years later, with football behind him and grown-up job possibilities not yet clear, he chose what others might consider an obvious path:

The family business. Well, sort of.

While younger brother Nico donned trunks and is now an unbeaten middleweight seven fights into a professional ring career, Biaggio began full-scale MMA training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and split two amateur fights prior to signing a developmental contract with the Professional Fighters League.

“I only trained MMA to stay in shape because I didn't want to get overweight, and I was getting better at it,” he said. “I started recording my sparring and I was always looking forward to going to the gym and getting better at the stuff that I wanted to improve. I fell in love with it.”

Consequently, he’ll be skipping turkey and stuffing to get in a few extra rounds before his PFL debut—set for Friday night at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater, where he’ll meet fellow newbie Tom Graesser in a lightweight bout that’ll air on ESPN+ as part of the show’s preliminary card.

Ali Walsh said the relationship with the New York-based promotion began when his brother was approached at a boxing event and given a business card. Ali Walsh’s father, Robert, reached out and was told the company wanted to speak to Biaggio about his MMA career. A few Zoom calls later and the deal, which is designed to help him build his career and his brand while still an amateur, was done.

If all goes well, he’ll make the switch before next Thanksgiving arrives.

Maybe.

“I'm actually going to turn pro whenever I feel like I'm ready to turn pro,” he said.

“I don't want to feel like I'm rushed, especially in a sport like MMA. You want to take your time. You don't want to be rushed. I personally think that if I stay on the same path I'm on right now and I keep getting better and better, I think by summer to fall next year I could be ready to turn pro. I don't know, but in the meantime, I'm just only focused on getting experience and winning.”

At 5’10” and 155 pounds—about 30 pounds below his weight as a running back—Ali Walsh is smaller than both his fighting brother (6’0”, 160 pounds) and his Hall of Fame grandfather (6’3”, 220 pounds). And rather than simply playing the role of a boxer in an MMA setting, he’s trying to blend specific elements of his favorite UFC fighters like Petr Yan, Charles Oliveira, Robert Whittaker and Jose Aldo.

It’s a quartet, incidentally, who combined to win Octagonal championships in four weight classes.

He watches his grandfather, too, and gleans ideas for head movement and how to set up punches, not to mention how strong Ali was mentally. And as for what he’s picked up regarding the familial gift of gab, while not a go-to tactic, he said it does leak out from time to time.

Ali Walsh wears the traditional Ali “colors” in the form of butterfly and bee tattoos on his left and right arms and said the chatter he used to practice most often was in the form of post-fight interviews.

Still, if a video-game session gets particularly heated, all verbal bets are off.

“I must say, if I'm playing Call of Duty, I'm a loudmouth trash-talker then,” he said with a laugh.

“My grandfather did a lot of the trash talk. I'm the type of person where you give me respect, I'll show respect back. If someone does want to trash talk, I'll trash talk, I don't care.”

That goes for critics, too. Especially the ones who question his motives.

Ali Walsh is aware that he’s the latest in a long line of relatives of noteworthy ex-fighters who’ve chosen to enter the combat space themselves. In fact, his own aunt, Laila Ali, boxed professionally for eight years and once fought the daughter of Muhammad Ali’s most famous rival, Joe Frazier.

And while some later-generation participants wind up as or even more successful than their predecessors—Floyd Mayweather Jr., for one—it’s just as often dismissed as a convenient means for the younger set to make a quick dollar while basking in a spotlight created by someone else.

It’s a charge he’s heard. And one he answers with a question of his own.

“Would you not?” he said. “That's the first thing I would say. ‘If you were in my position, in this one life that you have, would you not try to take any opportunity you can to become successful?’

“‘Oh, you're just trying to cash in because you're your grandfather, this, this, that.’ Listen, I'm just like any other fighter. I'm trying to create a name for myself. Every fighter wants to create their own name and they want to make their own legacy. I'm no different than any other fighter. I'm doing the same exact thing. The only difference is my grandfather is a very famous icon. That's the only difference.

“I don't want to be 35 and think, ‘Oh, if I really tried MMA, would I have been good?’ I don't want to have these questions, so I just said, ‘You know what? I don't think that I'm too old. I'm going to just go at it.’”