Professional Fighters League made groundbreaking news in 2023 when it signed former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king Francis Ngannou to a contract.

After signing with PFL and the nearly unprecedented career flexibility it offered, Ngannou competed in two high-level marquee boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua before making his mark inside and outside of the SmartCage.

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Helping launch the PFL Africa brand, which has given opportunities to top talent on the continent, Ngannou served as chairman. Now, after setting the table for a new generation, PFL and Ngannou are headed separate ways.

On Friday morning, PFL released a statement announcing it has released Ngannou, who competed once for the league, picking up a first-round technical knockout of Renan Ferreira:

“The Professional Fighters League has made the decision to part ways with Francis Ngannou,” a PFL representative said in a release. “We have great respect f…

A matchup of former UFC talents has been added to the PFL Brussels card.

The promotion announced on Wednesday that Taylor Lapilus will take on Jake Hadley in a bantamweight matchup on May 23 at ING Arena in Brussels, Belgium. PFL Brussels is headlined by a lightweight showdown pitting undefeated Belgian prospect Patrick Habirora against ex-UFC kingpin Benson Henderson.

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Continuing One Streak, Ending Another Lapilus boasts a five-bout winning streak that dates back to his UFC tenure. The 33-year-old Frenchman has been victorious in his first three Professional Fighters League appearances, notably ending a multi-fight decision streak with a third-round TKO of Kasum Kasumov in his last outing at PFL Dubai. Lapilus went 6-2 across two separate UFC stints.

England’s Hadley split a pair of PFL bouts last year, submitting Matheus Mattos with a twister in April before dropping a unanimous verdict against Macirley Alves in June. Prior to that, the Dana Wh…

Mauricio Ruffy is hinting that the UFC has big plans in store for him. | Getty/UFC

A month after his important victory over Rafael Fiziev, Mauricio Ruffy provided some insight into his UFC future.

Ruffy revealed that his next fight, while still under negotiation, should guarantee his spot as the next challenger for the belt.

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“If it’s not at the White House, it will be five rounds,” Ruffy told Sherdog.com.

Ruffy added that he has already returned to physical training following his win over Fiziev at UFC 325 on Jan. 31.

“I had surgery on my right hand after the fight, but it’s already fine,” he said. “I’ll go back to [punching] next week, but in the meantime, I’m keeping in shape and preparing the rest of my body. [Alexander] Volkanovski told me a lot not to stop training, and we’ll see each other again soon,” said the Brazilian, who made a point of praising all the treatment he received in Australia.

"It was really cool how Vol…