Francis Ngannou doesn't know exactly what his next move will be.
Earlier this month, Ngannou faced Anthony Joshua in a boxing match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, losing in just two rounds. The loss brings Ngannou's professional boxing career to 0-2 and raises questions about whether the former UFC heavyweight champion will return to MMA and eventually challenge the PFL.
Truth be told, Ngannou doesn't know what will happen next.
“We don't know at this point,” Ngannou said this week. MMA hour. “I'm starting to feel like boxing now owes me something to claim. The way this fight happened is not the way it's supposed to be or the way it should be. What I think I need to box now to claim that. To claim my respect, to claim my dignity, to claim everything.
“MMA is there. I don't really know. It depends on the time frame of what's going on. But maybe MMA comes first. I really don't know.”
Ngannou has not competed in MMA since his last UFC fight, when he successfully defended his heavyweight title against Cyril Gane in January 2022. 'The Predator' entered into a lucrative partnership with the PFL in 2023, but is yet to compete for the promotion, instead concentrating on his boxing activities. PFL co-founder Don Davis told MMA Fighting on Wednesday. MMA hour He said he expects Ngannou to make his PFL debut against Renan Ferreira on pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia “by September at the latest.”
There was speculation about whether Ngannou would return to MMA given his love for boxing, but the MMA heavyweight champion put those concerns to rest.
“I think I'm still excited about the idea of fighting MMA,” Ngannou said. “MMA these days is not easy, it's normal. … You can lose any fight, but at least in MMA there's a lot to understand and you can control it, unlike boxing in the Wild West. There's a lot of it. To be honest, it's just a little bit more comfortable. I have my own experience there.”
Despite not competing in the PFL, Ngannou is a regular at its events, most recently sitting cageside on the PFL vs. Bellator card. The PFL announced that Ngannou would make his PFL debut against the winner of the main event Ferreira vs. Ryan Bader fight, but after Ferreira won, Ngannou was ejected from the arena, leading some fans to believe that he I guessed that he wasn't interested in fighting. But Ngannou says it was just a misunderstanding.
“That was a surprise. It arrived so quickly that I didn't have time to process it, but I consulted it. [PFL CEO Peter Murray] It didn't matter,” Ngannou said when asked about rumors that he was dissatisfied with the PFL's announcement. “I didn't go to get in the cage. When the match ended, I was there and everyone went to the cage and I was there by myself. I don't know, it's not my show I didn't decide to walk into the cage. I sat there for a little while, applauded Renan Ferreira, and that was it. At some point I was alone and realized I should leave. That's what happened. It's not a bad thing or anything like that.
“No one told me to go to the cage.”
For Ngannou, the question of returning to MMA appears to be entirely a matter of timing. Over the past year, Ngannou has pursued his interest in boxing and the big paycheck that comes with it, but there's currently no obvious next step within the square after the loss to Joshua. That means, if the timing works out, 2024 could be the year Ngannou finally makes his PFL debut.
“Anything can happen,” Ngannou said. “I think it all depends on the time frame, because initially the winner of my fight was scheduled to fight the winner of Tyson Fury. [Oleksandr] Usyk — If I win the fight…then I might have to fight first. But now anything is possible. I have no obligation to fight anyone, so if the timing for MMA is right, I will fight first. If it's a boxing match where timing comes first, I'll do it.
