Francis Ngannou Gives Up Boxing Champion Dreams To Turn Focus Back On MMA

Francis Ngannou has admitted his dreams of becoming a boxing world champion are unlikely to happen as the Cameroonian prepares for his return to MMA.

Ngannou shot to superstardom by becoming the UFC’s heavyweight champion in 2021, but after one title defense, he left the company after failing to agree terms on a new contract. After committing his MMA future to the PFL, Ngannou agreed a money-spinning boxing bout against Tyson Fury, then the WBC and lineal world champion, last October.

What was expected to be little more than a glamorous and lucrative spectacle turned into a competitive, albeit low-quality, fight as Ngannou knocked Fury down in the third round and took his celebrated opponent to a split decision in his first-ever professional boxing bout.

Having come so close to shocking the world, Ngannou was awarded a top-10 ranking by the WBC and leveraged his performance against Fury to set up another mega-bout against former unified champion Anthony Joshua in March.

Given his impressive display against Fury and his proven power, Ngannou was given a decent chance by many observers of defeating Joshua; instead, A.J flattened the Cameroonian inside two rounds.

In the immediate aftermath of his defeat to Joshua, Ngannou insisted he would continue to pursue a career in boxing alongside his commitments to the PFL. But in a recent wide-ranging interview with the Diary of a CEO podcast, where he also discussed his improbable journey to France, rise in MMA, and the death of his young son, the 37-year-old appeared to end his boxing interests.

“It has never been a goal in my life,” Ngannou said. “I was aware of the situation. My first fight in boxing was less than a year ago and I was already 37. It’s not a moment in your life that you’re expecting to have a career in a combat sport like boxing.”

Ngannou’s deal with the PFL extends beyond simply being a contracted fighter. He was given a place on the PFL’s advisory board, made chairman of the upcoming PFL Africa, and secured guarantees for all his future opponents of $2 million for their fights against him.

Ngannou was also given the freedom to pursue boxing opportunities, and while both bouts ended in defeat against top-tier fighters, he was reportedly paid $10 million against Fury and $20 million for the Joshua fight. A cool $30 million, provided by Saudi Arabia, for two boxing bouts far outweighs everything Ngannou has earned from his entire 20-fight MMA career combined.

“I knew that from that moment every fight that I will make, I will be paid more than I’ve been making in my entire MMA career. Because in my last years in the UFC, I could’ve been making more if I’d accepted the contract,” Ngannou said.

“So, I basically left a lot of money on the table to have my freedom, I bought my freedom basically. “Freedom, they say, is not given, it is not free. You’ve to give something in order to get that. So that’s why at that point I made less money because I turned down that contract.”

Ngannou will contest his first MMA bout in more than two-and-a-half years when he makes his PFL debut against heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira on October 19. Despite his age and experience, the Cameroonian insists he is still looking for ways to learn and improve.

“I have been doing MMA for just 11 years and I think I still have a lot to learn, to experiment and to show in fights,” he said. “I think I still have a lot and I still have the passion. I’m not very young, but I still have a couple of years in front of me to be doing it. Because you’ve got to remember that after I’m 40 or 42, I’m retiring.”