Former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who most recently parted ways with the PFL and was released from his contract, is finally returning to MMA.
“The Predator” has signed with Jake Paul’s MVP and is set to face former UFC light heavyweight Philipe Lins in the co-main event of Most Valuable Promotions’ first MMA event and Netflix’s first-ever live MMA broadcast, which will be headlined by a five-round featherweight clash between two pioneers of women’s MMA: Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano.
The Ngannou vs. Lins heavyweight bout on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles will be a professionally sanctioned five-rounder under the unified rules of MMA, inside a hexagon cage, with both knockout artists donning 4-ounce gloves.
Francis Ngannou’s (18-3) last and only bout under the PFL banner was in 2024, where he dismantled Renan Ferreira in Round 1 to win the PFL Super Fights Heavyweight Championship. In 2026, he still had one fight left on his PFL contract, and the promotion had announced plans for something big for him. However, they ended up releasing him.
Philipe Lins (18-5), on the other hand, has won the 2018 PFL heavyweight tournament. He signed with the UFC in 2020 and lost his first two fights, but then racked up a four-fight win streak. However, several of his bouts were canceled due to injuries and other undisclosed issues, and “Monstro” was eventually released on March 21, 2024.
Francis Ngannou already has crosshairs on Jake Paul
Right after news arrived that Francis Ngannou is no longer a free agent and has signed with Jake Paul’s MVP, the former wasted no time in calling out “The Problem Child” for a boxing match. Ngannou told Netflix Sports:
MVP is the promoter. Maybe this means I’m one step closer to knocking out Jake Paul.”
Check out Francis Ngannou’s comments below:
Meanwhile, “The Problem Child” is busy promoting MVP’s first MMA event. He posted on X:
The two baddest MMA heavyweight champions in the world are Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones. 1 of them is now fighting on Saturday May 16th live on Netlfix. The lineal MMA heavyweight champion of the world Francis Ngannou vs Brazil’s Philipe Lins + Rousey vs Carano”
Check out Jake Paul’s comments below:
The press conference for the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card will stream live on Netflix’s YouTube and MVP’s YouTube on March 10 at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET, as per Tudum.
