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 champion Francis Ngannou will take half his purse in Bitcoin
On January 18, 2022, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion Francois Ngannou explained that the fighter plans to get half of his UFC 270 wallet paid in bitcoin (BTC). UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane will debut on Saturday, January 22, 2022, as the “Predator” Ngannou takes on mixed martial artist “Bon Gamin” Ciryl Gane. Knockout artist Ngannou will defend his title at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
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. I am therefore delighted to be associated [with] Cash App to take half of my UFC 270 purse in bitcoin.
Ngannou Is Giving $300K in Bitcoin Away to a Lucky Fan
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, entertainment firm MMA in partnership with digital currency exchange Crypto.com and sources said at the time that it was the UFC’s biggest endorsement deal to date. Furthermore, the company MMA spear a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) 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.”
