Heavyweight Champ Francis Ngannou Plans to 'Take Half of His UFC 270 Purse Paid in Bitcoin'

The reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou has announced the mixed martial artist has partnered with the payments firm Cash App and plans to take half of his UFC 270 purse in bitcoin. Ngannou told his 620,100 Twitter followers that he believes “bitcoin can empower people everywhere.”

‘Bitcoin Is the Future and I’m a Believer’ — Mixed Martial Arts Champ Francis Ngannou to Take Half of His Purse in Bitcoin

On January 18, 2022, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou explained that the fighter plans to get half of his UFC 270 purse paid in bitcoin (BTC). UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane will debut on Saturday, January 22, 2022, as the ‘Predator’ Ngannou will face the mixed martial artist ‘Bon Gamin’ Ciryl Gane. The knockout artist Ngannou will defend his title at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

The French Cameroonian mixed martial artist will join the likes of athletes like Russell Okung, Odell Beckham Jr, and Aaron Rodgers choosing to be paid in bitcoin. That’s according to Ngannou’s tweet on Tuesday that said he plans to take half of his UFC 270 purse in bitcoin. Moreover, the UFC fighter also said that he thinks bitcoin empowers people, when he stated:

I believe bitcoin can empower people everywhere. So I’m excited to partner [with] Cash App to take half my UFC 270 purse in bitcoin.

In addition to getting paid half of his purse in BTC, Ngannou said he planned to give away $300K worth of bitcoin to people dropping their Cash App name tag and using the hashtag “#paidinbitcoin.” The tweet managed to get the #paidinbitcoin hashtag to trend on Twitter in U.S. regions. Similar to Ngannou, the mixed martial arts (MMA) entertainment firm UFC is into blockchain technology and cryptocurrency solutions.

In July 2021, the MMA entertainment firm partnered with the digital currency exchange Crypto.com and sources said at the time it was the UFC’s largest advertising deal to date. Furthermore, the MMA company launched a non-fungible token (NFT) collection in order to celebrate UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2.

Just before the UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou’s statements about getting half of his purse in bitcoin, the fighter also said that bitcoin is big in Africa. “Been talking with my family and friends in the crypto space,” Ngannou said. “Bitcoin is huge in Africa and I’m thinking of taking half my fight purse in it. Bitcoin is the future and I’m a believer.”