UFC President Dana White tried to shame Francis Ngannou for chasing “gimmick” fights.
The former UFC heavyweight champion took those comments to heart and not only embraced his new (and somewhat costly) role as an independent fighter, but also created his own fight promotion called GIMIK to empower future negotiations.
That’s why Ngannou is working with PFL and not for PFL.
“I don’t need a promoter,” Ngannou told Shannon Sharpe on the Club Shay Shay podcast. “I don’t need a promoter. GIMIK fight promotion. I can go promote with whoever has a fighter and wants to put on a fight. I don’t need a promotion.”
Ngannou, 37, was released by UFC after a public (and messy) falling out with White and Co., but eventually got the last laugh after scoring a blockbuster showdown against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury last Oct. in Saudi Arabia.
A fight “The Predator” won in the court of public opinion.
Ngannou is campaigning for a Fury rematch after “The Gypsy King” battles Oleksandr Usyk early next year. In addition, the Cameroonian slugger is expected to make his PFL MMA “Super Fight” debut on pay-per-view (PPV), once the promotion can find an opponent that’s “interesting” to both fans and Ngannou.