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Heavyweight MMA king Francis Ngannou appears at Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz
Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz saw another UFC veteran make an appearance when MMA heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou walked into the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas tonight August 5, 2023.
MMA Junkie was on the scene and got video:
Ngannou speaks after the fight ‘Jake Paul can’t fight Nate Diaz in MMA’
Ngannou signed to do a bit of boxing himself
Ngannou recently made headlines when he signed the biggest possible professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury.
As we reported at the time:
WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury has confirmed to Sky News that he will be facing former UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou in a boxing match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 28. The bout will be contested under the 10 point must system with three judges ringside.
As Bloody Elbow’s John Nash reported earlier, Nate Diaz stands to make a career making payday tonight boxing against Jake Paul just as Ngannou stands to make more boxing Fury than he made in his entire career in the UFC.
Diaz will be getting a cut of everything: The pay-per-view, which they are partnering with DAZN for; The commercial (bar) pay-per-views; Tickets, with the gate projected to be over $3 million; Merchandise. And all levels of sponsorships, both in and out of the ring.
Ngannou’s manager bragged that his man will do comparably well in his boxing debut.
“Let’s just say this: The bag is so big, he may actually just drop it on the way to the bank,” Ngannou’s manager Marquel Martin told MMA Fighting. “Let’s just say that. I don’t know what the haters are trying to say right now, I kind of just blocked it out, but they’ll just be proven wrong again. This is life-changing. This is exactly what we planned and visualized, so we’re happy.”
How big? Ngannou’s manager says its far more than everything he earned in his seven years with the UFC.
“Oh my god, (it’s bigger than career UFC earnings). I mean, by far. By multiples,” Martin said. “Just to make (this money) even while being champion, he would’ve had to fight multiple times just to (be in this ballpark).”
PFL signee Ngannou there to support Amanda Serrano?
Amanda Serrano is on the card tonight against Heather Hardy but announced earlier this week that she was returning to MMA and signed with the PFL.
“I joined the PFL PPV Super Fight Division because of their revolutionary format that empowers fighters like never before. The PFL’s commitment to promoting high-profile, pay-per-view events with some of the biggest MMA stars in the world showcases an incredible opportunity to elevate my career to new heights and prove my ability beyond just the ring. I may be known for boxing, but I’ve always loved and trained in MMA and Jiu-Jitsu, knowing those skills would only add to my ability when going against any opponent,” said Serrano.
Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz results
You can follow along with all the results and highlights from Paul vs. Diaz: Ready 4 War here.
Live video stream
You can watch the FITE.TV live stream of this event below:
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