BKFC boss doubts PFL will co-promote Francis Ngannou vs. Ben Rothwell superfight

BKFC boss David Feldman doesn't see PFL matching up champs Francis Ngannou and Ben Rothwell.

PFL MMA, BKFC

There aren't many more enticing opponents for Francis Ngannou than BKFC Champ Ben Rothwell.

The former UFC heavyweight champion has yet to make his sequel appearance in the PFL, left without an opponent since stopping 6'8" Renan Ferreira by first-round TKO in October. As big a name Ngannou is, only a few fighters make sense for him in the SmartCage, moreso in boxing where Ngannou's shared the ring with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Francis Ngannou made short work of Renan Ferreira in his only PFL appearance so far. / PFL

With limited options available for both champions in terms of opponents, Rothwell, another former UFC heavyweight, was the latest to call for a matchup with Ngannou, dropping his name after a title win over Mick Terrill at KnuckleMania V.

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BKFC Boss On Francis Ngannou vs. Ben Rothwell

We asked BKFC President David Feldman about the idea of a cross-promotional clash between Ngannou and Rothwell and if we could ever see the heavyweight fight happening, with gloves or without.

"That would be a fantastic payday for Ben Rothwell, and I wouldn't be opposed to something like that happening," Feldman told MMA Knockout. "But I just don't think the PFL are gonna do it... UFC doesn't need us, and all the rest of the promotions really don't want to help us out because it's just gonna help us get bigger and bigger. So, they don't wanna do that."

Francis Ngannou previously held the UFC heavyweight title. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

"They don't wanna partner with us because they feel it's gonna help us and not help them as much as it could because Francis Ngannou is a big name."

BKFC 'Solid #2' In Combat Sports

Not holding nearly the same name value as Ngannou at 43, Rothwell has fought much of the same elite UFC competition "The Predator" has, from Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem to Junior Dos Santos and Andrei Arlovski, twice.

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A post shared by Francis Ngannou (@francisngannou)

While Ngannou may have Rothwell and just about every other MMA heavyweight beat in star power, the BKFC brand and banner have grown tremendously over the last few years. Feldman feels that the bareknuckle boxing promotion is currently the #2 fight promotion in the world, only behind the UFC.

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"If I had to say what number we are, I would think we're a very solid number #2," Feldman said of the BKFC praise following a successful night out KnuckleMania V with 17,000+ fans in attendance.

"Here's what I know is there's no more exciting show in the world and our trajectory is higher than anything else out there."

BKFC x PFL? "I Don't Think It Really Makes Sense..."

Looking at the rest of the MMA landscape, Feldman says the PFL, the sport's self-titled 'co-leader', 'may not have as much as steam as people thought they did' with their only recent momentum a five-round title fight between Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes a few weeks ago.

"We don't really need to," Feldman said when asked about the PFL potentially co-promoting with BKFC. "If something comes up and, and it makes sense, we could talk about it, but we don't really need to. UFC made sense because they had some of the top dogs in the whole world and if they weren't using 'em and we could pull one of 'em, that made a lot of sense."

BKFC President David Feldman has confirmed they're in talks with UFC for Robbie Lawler / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

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"But the other guys, I mean, I don't think it really makes much sense. I think eventually, if you're a really good striker, all those really good strikers are gonna wanna end up at BKFC."

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