Francis Ngannou was knocked out by Anthony Joshua (Image: Matchroom Boxing via Getty Image)
could face in a clash of the KO artists as the MMA star ponders a return to the ring. After his departure from the UFC after beating Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in 2022, ‘The Predator’ decided to roll the dice in professional boxing.
Although he faced a narrow split-decision loss against and was later knocked out by in Saudi Arabia, Ngannou has not given up on either boxing or MMA. “I never left MMA. Also, I haven’t left boxing. I’m not returning to MMA, I never left MMA. That’s the confusion,” he told Sport.
“The fact that those fights even happened, it was something exceptional. I had that dream for over 20 years, and I finally put it into fruition. That was dream chasing, a life-long dream I completed.” After his bout with Joshua, Francis stepped back into the octagon in October for the first time in two years to face Renan Ferreira for the PFL Super Fights Heavyweight Championship, where he emerged victorious with a compelling first-round knockout win in Riyadh.
‘The Predator’ Francis Ngannou is keen to forge on with his MMA career, though fans may have to hold their breath for a bit as prospects in the heavyweight division seem sparse. The only notable contender appears to be Denis Goltsov following his momentous win against Oleg Popov, clinching the $1million heavyweight tournament prize.
Francis Ngannou returned to the cage in October (Image: Getty)
One person who is particularly eager to see Ngannou step back into the boxing scene is none other than Turki Alalshikh, His Excellency, who has announced his ambition to verify Deontay Wilder’s readiness for a return to the ring after consecutive losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, before possibly matching him up with ‘The Predator’. “I need to sit with Wilder [for] two minutes to see his condition,” Alalshikh said to DAZN. “I can catch it from two minutes [and check] if he’s ready or not. I don’t want to waste time and money anymore. I need to check first if he’s still got it.”
He further mentioned that Ngannou will meet with him this month to watch the Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury rematch, hinting at numerous business discussions they plan to have. “Francis will come to me in December to watch the [Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury] rematch. We have a lot of business together. Yes, I have on the table two options for Francis. One in MMA and one in boxing I want to discuss with him,” he added.