Francis Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, is reportedly looking to resume his fighting career following a period of inactivity. His last mixed martial arts bout was in October of last year, marking his highly anticipated debut in the PFL after a notable departure from the UFC, where he vacated his heavyweight title.
In that PFL debut, `The Predator` quickly secured a dominant first-round knockout victory over Renan Ferreira to claim the PFL heavyweight super fights title.
Since that fight, however, Ngannou has remained sidelined, as the PFL promotion appears to be facing challenges in securing a suitable and high-profile opponent for him.
Potential Mixed Rules Super Fight Discussions Involving Francis Ngannou
During his time away from competition, Ngannou had expressed interest in a potential return to the UFC to face then-champion Jon Jones. However, UFC President Dana White recently announced Jon Jones` retirement, elevating Tom Aspinall to the status of undisputed heavyweight champion.
Furthermore, White indicated that he is not currently interested in Ngannou returning to the UFC roster, despite suggestions that his presence could inject excitement into the heavyweight division.
While a bout against Aspinall in the UFC seems unlikely, `The Predator` might instead have an opportunity to compete against Rico Verhoeven, a teammate of Aspinall and a prominent kickboxing champion.
Verhoeven recently successfully defended his GLORY heavyweight title against Artem Vakhitov, extending his reign which spans over a decade. The Dutch kickboxer has openly discussed a potential fight with Ngannou for several months, indicating his interest in making his mixed martial arts debut.
He recently confirmed that discussions have indeed taken place with both the PFL and Saudi entities regarding a potential mixed rules super fight against the former UFC titleholder.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Verhoeven detailed that the proposed format for the mixed rules contest would involve one round of MMA, followed by one round of kickboxing, and concluding with one round of boxing.
Verhoeven quoted: “The PFL is interested and the Saudis are interested, so I think there are a lot of things that might happen and just change combat sports in general.”
Other Potential Opponents for Francis Ngannou
Ultimately, if a deal for the potential super fight against Verhoeven with the PFL doesn`t materialize, the pool of suitable opponents for Ngannou within the promotion appears limited. This limited availability of opponents is cited as the reason for him having competed only once under the PFL banner so far, despite his dominant victory over what was considered the promotion`s top heavyweight.
Despite the uncertainty in MMA, `The Predator` continues to hint at a potential return to professional boxing, with a matchup against Deontay Wilder often mentioned as a likely possibility.
