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Dana White worked hard to make UFC the star of his promotion.
Donn Davis, however, puts fighters first and lets them control their own destinies. That’s why the PFL founder is not white-knuckling the Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira main event at this weekend’s “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view (PPV) Riyadh.
“The question is, are we nervous about Francis? Are we nervous about the outcome? No. Professional Fighters League is different from the other guys,” Davis said at the PFL press conference scrum in Riyadh. “The other guys are a promoter-driven league. They have stakes in certain fighters winning. They put a lot of investments in ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley winning. They worked to make sure he wins. They invested a lot in marketing hoping he’s the next Conor McGregor — and then he falls flat and they’re disappointed.”
Ngannou was knocked out by Anthony Joshua prior to making his PFL debut.
“That’s not what Professional Fighters League is about,” Davis continued. “We’re a fighter-driven league. Fighters control their destiny. If they win, they advance. If they win four times they become league champion and win a million dollars and the belt. I don’t control anything here. I don’t have favorites, I root for them all. That’s what makes Professional Fighters League so great: fighter driven vs. promoter driven. It doesn’t matter who wins and loses here to us, we root for them all and support them all equally.”
Ngannou and Cris Cyborg, who battles Larissa Pacheco in the “Battle of the Giants” co-main event this weekend at Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, are the two biggest (and two most expensive) names on the roster. No question PFL wants a return on its investment, but a loss allows the promotion to claim it beat the best that UFC had to offer.
We’ll find out on Oct. 19 (stream it here).