Francis Ngannou has been criticised by his own boss for missing his promotion’s debut event in Africa.
The PFL entered Africa for the first time last month for a stacked fight card in South Africa.
It was headlined by a middleweight title bout between Johnny Eblen and Costello van Steenis, which the latter won via submission in the last ten seconds of the five-round bout.
Also on the card was Briton Dakota Ditcheva, who claimed a unanimous decision win over Sumiko Inaba to cement her name as the promotion’s greatest female athlete.
Eblen spoke to talkSPORT.com ahead of his fight at the top of the bill, and revealed during the conversation that he hadn’t seen Ngannou throughout the event’s fight week.
PFL Africa is spearheaded by former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou, who is acting as the league’s chairman.
So it was surprising to fans and the media that the Cameroonian hadn’t been present at any of the event’s promotional activities.
PFL chairman Donn Davis has since discussed Ngannou‘s absence from the event, admitting his disappointment in the face of his promotion.
“You have to ask Francis [why he was not present],” Davis told ESPN after PFL Africa.
“I’m not going to hide it – I expected him. This is part of his vision, so that all those fighters out there don’t have to leave the continent like he did.
“We worked for two years. I’m direct and say what I think. I’m disappointed.”
Ngannou’s story to MMA’s summit, which included a 14-month journey back and forth across the Sahara Desert and time in prison, is one of a kind.
PFL Africa is being driven by the message that up-and-coming fighters won’t have to go through the same thing as Ngannou once did.
‘The Predator’ hasn’t fought since his PFL debut in October 2024, when he stopped Renan Ferreira in one round to become the promotion’s new heavyweight champion.
The fight came two-and-a-half-years after Ngannou left the UFC due to a contract dispute with his former boss, Dana White.
Ngannou sought lucrative opportunities in the world of boxing after leaving the UFC.
He fought Tyson Fury in his in-ring debut in October 2023, knocking ‘The Gypsy King’ down with a left hook en route to a split-decision defeat.
Five months later, Ngannou was brutally knocked out by Anthony Joshua after two rounds before defeating Ferreira, and he hasn’t fought since.
He is most likely to appear back inside the squared circle before his return to MMA.
Deontay Wilder has frequently cropped up as someone who could stand toe-to-toe in the ring with Ngannou next.