Shane Burgos Believes PFL Signing Francis Ngannou Will Have a Ripple Effect on Fighter Pay

Shane Burgos is sure Francis Ngannou’s contract with the Professional Fighters League will improve mixed martial arts fighters’ situations across the industry.

Burgos (15-4, 0-1 PFL) is a few days away from his next bout, where he needs to secure a victory over Yamato Nishikawa if he wants a spot in the upcoming playoffs. “Hurricane” dropped a unanimous decision to 2022 PFL 155-pound champion and fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship alum Olivier Aubin-Mercier in his first seasonal assignment and now needs to quickly finish his foe to continue on his path to the $1 million award. Ahead of the 2023 PFL 6 clash, Burgos described the recent signing of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou by the PFL as a historic moment, admiring Ngannou's selflessness in advocating for his opponents' pay as well. Regarding fighter pay, Burgos believes that Ngannou's contract will have a ripple effect, leading to higher income for all fighters comparable to athletes in other major sports leagues.

“That was a big move for everyone. I think it's like a ripple effect. You drop a pebble in the water, and a ripple effect goes through everything. I think everyone's stock is gonna rise. You're gonna see guys making a lot more money. I’m noticing a lot more fighters are making money and that their money's going up. It's not super significant or anything like that, but it's definitely going up. I’m noticing the rise in everyone's pay, which I love. I wanna get paid. Obviously, I care about me ‘cause I have a family and like that, but I also want everyone else to get paid. If everyone's getting paid, that’s what the sport's about. You see these guys in the NBA and the NFL, they're making $100 million a year, $50 million a year, $200 million a year. Why are we not doing that? We're the best in the world at what we do as well, and this is the most primal sport. This is the first-ever sport fighting. I feel like we gotta get MMA to that level where you're making the same as the NFL guys, the NBA guys. The soccer league is making insane money. Like, why can't we do that?”

(00:00) Intro
(01:01) Preparing for Nishikawa
(01:46) Commenting on Nishikawa’s toughness
(02:55) Looking to secure his place in the playoffs
(03:54) Praising PFL’s talent scouts
(06:15) Francis Ngannou’s ‘phenomenal’ signing
(08:06) His take on fighters’ pay
(09:37) The toll MMA takes on fighters
(10:54) Having a ‘frustrating sparring session’ with Aubin-Mercier
(13:07) Outro