SI’s MMA notes, quotes, and anecdotes are published weekly.
PFL CEO Peter Murray is ready to book the biggest fight possible.
Murray wants to make his dream of a fight between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou a reality.
“There’s an absolute energy between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou,” Murray said. “It’s a fight that we want to happen, and I know that the fighters actually want that fight to happen. That’s in the UFC’s jurisdiction, but we support it. , we support you.”
PFL CEO Peter Murray
Provided by: PFL
The chances of that fight happening are very low. Jones is the current UFC heavyweight champion, and Ngannou, who has never lost the UFC heavyweight belt, is currently signed to the PFL.
Jones and Ngannou were both seen at the PFL Champions vs. Bellator Champions pay-per-view in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in February of this year. And that may be the key to the battle that is to come – if there is to be a battle, it will likely be through Saudi royal adviser Turki Alalshik uniting the two sides. He is a force behind big fights in boxing and has the resources to accomplish the same in MMA.
He is a great person that I respect and look forward to having fun with in the future! @Dana White pic.twitter.com/LAz7BbtBUP
— Turki Alalshikh (@Turki_alalshikh) April 19, 2024
“Jon Jones is a leader and a big part of the fabric of the sport,” Murray said. “It was great to have him there and he was on the broadcast.”
Ngannou’s next opponent, in his first PFL fight, will be Renan Ferreira, who brutally knocked out Ryan Bader in February. Curiously, there was no showdown after the win against Ngannou, with Ferreira concentrating on boxing Anthony Joshua at the time.
“For the next step with Francis and us, he will be fighting Champs vs. Champs winner Renan Ferreira,” Murray said. “Rennan has earned the rights and the fight will take place this fall.”
Last weekend, Murray’s PFL concluded the first half of the 2024 regular season. The second half begins on June 13 with a card featuring heavyweight points leader Valentin Moldavsky vs. Lynton Vassell, and co-main and rising women’s flyweight contender Dakota Dicheva vs. Chelsea Hackett.
Ahead of that, the Bellator Champion Series continues with the next event taking place on May 17th in Paris.
“We acquired Bellator in December and launched the Bellator Championship Series, starting with Bellator Champs vs. PFL Champs in Riyadh in February,” Murray said. “We respect the Bellator brand and its history and are honored to launch this historic event in the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” [in February]. Renan Ferreira’s win in the main event was amazing. Impa Kasanganay and Johnny Eblen, that was the match of the night.
“It was a great night, and we built on it. Looking forward, we have great fighters and great matches scheduled throughout the year.”
PFL CEO Peter Murray
Provided by: PFL
As the PFL continues to strengthen its position in the sports world, the recent settlement of the UFC’s antitrust lawsuit was not encouraging for other fight promotions. However, Murray still believes other promotions can succeed in MMA.
“There’s room to grow in this sport and there’s room to grow beyond one leader,” Murray said. “And the demand is there. We’re starting the 2024 Global Season and we’re on ESPN. UFC is also on ESPN. That’s why we’re asking everyone to watch PFL instead of UFC. There’s room for both. We have an underserved fan base here, and there’s a lot more growth to come.
“Here in the U.S. alone, we’ve grown 30 percent over the last three seasons for ESPN. And we’re going to continue that growth. That’s the trajectory of the PFL. We’re going to advance this sport and grow it. We are building a strong world league while doing so.”
Murray intends for the PFL to be a constant factor in free agency. Cedric Doumbe just signed a multi-year contract extension and will fight on the Bellator card in Paris next month, while the PFL has also signed former Cage Warriors featherweight champion Paul Hughes. For now, the players who will have the biggest impact will be those already on the roster, such as Jake Paul, who has yet to make his debut.
“Jake is focused on boxing right now,” Murray said, referring to Paul’s fight against Tyson on July 20. “This is a big event for Netflix and we’re all excited. But he’s also training for his MMA debut. We’ll have more details soon.”
Mr. Murray aims to continue to grow PFL in the United States and around the world. Nurturing new stars and adding to existing ones will continue to be important in 2024 and beyond.
“I’m especially proud of winning Bellator,” Murray said. “And we’re looking at adding more.”
