Ex-UFC star Ngannou’s US$10 million boxing payday continues potential shake-up of sport, fighters eye better conditions

Mixed martial arts star Francis Ngannou is in the final week of training for his first professional boxing match that will reportedly pay him $10 million, which is 16 times more than his most recent MMA bout.

Ngannou was a heavyweight UFC champion, but when his contract expired earlier this year, he signed with the upstart Professional Fighters League, which, unlike the UFC, allowed him to compete in boxing where purses can be much larger. If other UFC stars follow his path, it would continue shaking up the sport.

Next Saturday, Ngannou will fight world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia. Although payouts haven’t been officially revealed, Fury has said Ngannou is set to make at least eight figures.

The tilt is another meeting between a top boxer and MMA fighter that’s drawing lots of media attention and big paydays. Conor McGregor set the stage for these kind of matchups in 2017 when the UFC star boxed and lost to Floyd Mayweather. McGregor earned $85 million, according to Forbes.

While experiencing a boom in popularity, MMA’s top fighters still can’t match the payouts of boxers. One big reason is that boxing is a much older sport with a lucrative business model in place.

And while MMA fighters are under contract with a promotion or league, boxers act as their own business entities. That gives them more power when negotiating fights and advertising deals.