Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou said he gave his $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus to Philipe Lines following MVP MMA.
Ngannou brutally dispatched of fellow former UFC fighter Lins in the first round of their heavyweight bout on the MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano main card. Following the event, Ngannou was given a $100,000 bonus for Performance of the Night. The Fight of the Night bonus went to Phumi Nkuta and Adriano Moraes for their war on the preliminary card, which aired live for free on Heavy, with each man getting $100,000 each for that sensational fight.
Francis Ngannou Gives Philipe Lins His Bonus
Although Ngannou won $100,000 for his amazing knockout, he is not keeping his bonus money. Instead, Ngannou announced following the card that he is gifting his bonus to Lins, who he believes deserves the money more.
“Even though I believe that (Lins) was promoted, I believe he was underestimated. I saw a lot of people counted him out. The guy that I faced tonight, of course, I won, but he was tough. He could eat some punches. By the way, I think he’s the guy who deserves the Performance of the Night. So we should give the Performance of the Night (bonus) to Philipe Lins,” Ngannou said.
It is worth noting that Ngannou earned $1.5 million disclosed for the bout, with Lins at $100,000, so getting the POTN bonus essentially doubles Lins’ pay.
Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones Next?
Following his win over Lins, Ngannou was asked by MVP MMA reporter Ariel Helwani if he would like to fight UFC legend Jon Jones next, and he said that he would be interested in the fight. Jones — who was a guest analyst on Netflix — also expressed interest in the bout, but admitted that it could be problematic getting out of his UFC contract. Still, both heavyweights appear to be very interested in this bout.
That being said, as Jones mentioned, he is under a UFC contract, and it will be difficult for him to get out of it to fight Ngannou on Netflix. UFC president Dana White has no reason to let Jones out of his deal, as it doesn’t benefit the UFC in any way. It only benefits Jones, Ngannou, and Netflix, and given that White has butted heads with Jones for so many years, he has no real incentive to help him out.
For MMA fans, Ngannou vs. Jones would certainly be a dream fight, but it’s likely not feasible right now.
Instead, if MVP MMA runs another event, they could match up Ngannou against the Cuban Robelis Despaigne, who brutally knocked out Junior dos Santos to open up the main card. That would be a terrific matchup between two devastating knockout artists, so let’s see if MVP MMA can get it done. Sure, it’s not as big a fight as Ngannou vs. Jones would be, but it would still be a really fun striking battle for the fans to watch. With both men free to fight anyone they want in any promotion, Ngannou vs. Despaigne feels like the right fight to make, at least while Jones tries to work his way out of his UFC contract.
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