Francis Ngannou wasn’t happy with how the first PFL Africa-branded event was presented, so he decided to stay home.
The event took place July 19 at GrandWest Arena in Cape Town, South Africa, featuring a total of 14 fights. However, the way the promotion broke down the event, it split the undercard with PFL Africa branding, while the main card was labeled as PFL Road to Dubai Champions Series. The main event of the card was a middleweight title fight between Johnny Eblen and Costello van Steenis.
With all of the work Ngannou put in behind the scenes as the region’s chairman, he was hoping the first PFL Africa event would have been the main focus. Since it wasn’t, Ngannou decided not to attend, which drew public criticism from PFL CEO Donn Davis, who said he was “disappointed” with his absence.
“As far as my reaction, I don’t think it was something he should have bring out there,” Ngannou said Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “At least if it was me, I wouldn’t keep it out there. Now it gets in the position that we have to bring up context, like why didn’t I come there. He didn’t know why I didn’t come. I’ve been waiting for this for two years, and this was the big part of it: So, when you’re still working on something, unless you think it’s off, it’s not a thing that you bring it outside. I wasn’t OK with something, but I wasn’t the one that was going to take it out (publicly).
“For example, if you want to know what exactly is the reason I wasn’t there, I wasn’t very OK with the first PFL Africa event seeming to be like an undercard. … That wasn’t my decision, and I wasn’t down for it, but I expressed my feelings to them.”
The July 19 event featured some of PFL’s biggest names, including A.J. McKee and Dakota Ditcheva. However, Ngannou felt the focus should have been on the African fighters so that the spotlight could have been shone on them, rather than being on essentially an undercard.
According to Ngannou, constant conversations with Peter Murray and other PFL executives involved a different vision for the start of PFL Africa. Ngannou clarified that he rarely communicates with Davis.
Ngannou did not attend the second PFL Africa event on Aug. 9, which was more like what he had in mind for the first. Although he enjoyed some of the fights he saw, the totality of the event still wasn’t what he had envisioned.
“Matter of circumstances, and again, we were still working on it,” Ngannou said, explaining his absence from the second event. “This is not the only event. PFL Africa is something that is made to be run forever. So, as we take the time that it takes to set things up right, then the company will run properly. So, I don’t have any problem with that. I don’t have any problem with going, as long as we get things right and feel comfortable. Because I’m going there, stepping forward, putting myself in line as a guarantee. So,at least I’m going to make sure I’m going to stand by what I’m saying.”
