Did Francis make the right choice in leaving? I think a one off boxing fight is his best choice.
Boxing - possibly $5-10M for a one off boxing (not $10-50M as some dreamed up) go check out the purses that Fury's recent opponents earned. Francis could cash out with a big fight vs Wilder, Joshua or Fury (who probably won't be available until 2024 with 2 possible Usyk fights) and then the balloon deflates when he likely loses to any top guy.
PFL / Bellator - Wouldn't signing Francis to $5M+ a fight bankrupt either of these promotions eventually? Hard to imagine either of them crushing it in PPV sales even with Ngannou headlining. Could it even crack 100k buys? Maybe if the price was cheap, they can't sell it for close to UFC prices and expect to do well.
ONE FC - Don't they have shady financial ties behind the scenes? Maybe if all supposed 6 billion viewers are interested then this could be a great promotion for him to go to.
Also to top it off, the balloon will burst if he takes a single loss and none of these promotions will have the ability to use highlights of Ngannou's UFC knockouts to promote their events.