Francis Ngannou says he's ready to return to the cage.
The former UFC heavyweight champion, who recently competed in heavyweight boxing, told Joe Rogan during a lengthy podcast discussion that he plans to make his PFL debut in October, about two and a half years after he last competed in mixed martial arts.
Since then, Ngannou has fought two of boxing's best “big men” of this generation in Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, coming close to defeating Fury before being knocked out in the second round by Joshua.
But with 6-foot-8 Renan Ferreira waiting in the wings in the PFL, Ngannouse says the time is fast approaching for him to return to the sport where he built his reputation.
“I think Renan Ferreira is the guy,” Ngannou told Rogan. Mixed Martial Arts“I've been telling people about this guy for almost two years now. Very athletic. Quick on his hands and knees. Very athletic. I think it's going to be him.”
“The PFL is working towards sometime in October. They're working towards October. It's not set in stone yet, but they've been talking about October 19th.”
The bout will be Ngannou's first with the PFL since signing a lucrative contract with the organization following the expiration of his contract with UFC, which left him as a world champion.
“I would say mixed martial arts is next,” Ngannou vowed. “I was scheduled to fight, so it's been a little over a year since my agreement with the PFL and I was scheduled to fight within a year, so now I'm a little off schedule.”
Ngannou, who turns 38 in October, acknowledges his time in the spotlight is coming to an end but adds that he still has a lot to achieve in both boxing and mixed martial arts.
“I want to quit the sport before it gets away from me,” he said. “I'm going to think about it when I'm 41… Maybe I'll be in my 40s and still feel strong. If I feel strong at 41… I'll take it one step at a time. What I really don't want to do is get up in the morning and force myself to go to the gym, feeling strong and excited and like, oh, today is sparring day, whether I beat somebody or somebody beats me, I'm going to be in there. I'm going to be excited either way.”
“I think there are still two or three left. [of boxing bouts] “I have a couple of boxing fights up my sleeve, a couple of mixed martial arts fights up my sleeve,” Ngannou added.
