Editor’s note: This article was originally published at MMAJunkie.com.
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Jake Paul expects other UFC fighters to follow in Francis Ngannou’s footsteps after he landed the big-money Tyson Fury fight he was after.
Ngannou will face Fury in a 10-round boxing match Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fury was granted “special permission” by the WBC to box Ngannou, who will be making his boxing debut against the best heavyweight in the world
Paul, who signed a multifight contract with PFL at the start of the year, believes Ngannou has set the precedent of how to handle free agency, showing that there’s more money to be made outside of the UFC.
“I’m happy for him, and I think he’s creating history by showing UFC fighters they can make so much more money by being in control of their own destiny,” Paul told MMA Junkie. “Which is also what Nate Diaz is doing.
“This should be Nate Diaz’s biggest payday, and that’s for certain going to be Francis’ biggest payday. Hopefully more fighters follow suit, leave the UFC, come to the better league, which is PFL, and also be able to box.
“They’re MMA fighters, but they can also box. So I think more fighters will follow in his footsteps, and that’s what we’re doing with the PFL, and growing it is giving fighters another place to go instead of it just being a monopoly that the UFC has truly created.
“Francis is the pioneer of that currently, and this fight is amazing. It’s exciting, and it’s fun.”
Paul doesn’t think this fight harms boxing’s image. If Floyd Mayweather could box Conor McGregor and get millions to watch, then Paul doesn’t see why there would be an issue for Fury to box Ngannou.
“A massive fight like this with global audiences and the two baddest men on the planet going at it is only good for everyone and everything,” Paul said. “No one criticized Floyd when he basically came out of retirement just to fight Conor McGregor for hundreds of millions of dollars, but for some reason, they want to criticize Tyson Fury.
“At the end of the day, we’re fighters, we’re showmen, it’s the show business, we’re prizefighters, we’re pugilists.”
