Ngannou Commits His Future To The PFL Despite The Joshua Fight
Francis Ngannou has committed his future to MMA in the PFL despite fans waiting for his debut.
The former UFC heavyweight champion has had a boxing bout with Tyson Fury since signing for the PFL. His deal allowed him to do that in 2023. The performance earned him lots of praise as he sent Fury to the canvas and hung in with the WBC heavyweight champion until the final bell. The split decision loss was controversial, with Ngannou feeling he had done enough to win.
That sentiment was shared with some in the boxing community as Ngannou sought a rematch. The rematch failed, but Ngannou did get a WBC ranking in the top ten, as Fury signed a deal to fight Oleksandr Usyk for undisputed. Since then, he has inked a deal to fight Anthony Joshua for his second boxing fight on March 8/9th, 2024.
That has raised questions over Ngannou’s MMA future. His last MMA fight was in 2022 when he beat Ciryl Gane in a unanimous decision to retain his heavyweight title. Ngannou was expected to make his MMA debut in the PFL this year, but nothing has materialized. But Ngannou downplayed any worries as he highlighted his commitment to the sport.
Ngannou On MMA
“It doesn’t affect it at all. First of all, when I received a call and proposal for this fight, I reached out to PFL and told them. We’re in business together, you know? They gave me their blessing for the opportunity, and said “We can’t take this type of opportunity off of you’.
“So, I was happy to do that…. They didn’t have any problem with this. Possibility [that I fight in MMA this year] yes. Strong? I don’t know. As I said, even before this fight, nothing was certain yet. There’s a chance [that I fight in boxing twice]. Yes [there was talk of fighting Deontay Wilder in the PFL as well].” Then, Deontay Wilder had a fight first. Then had a misstep on the way, and now I think I have [his] fight,” Ngannou said
Ngannou’s Future
Ngannou’s issues in MMA lie with the fact that not many options are available for him in the PFL, unlike the UFC. He could face Junior Dos Santos, someone he has beaten in the UFC. There is also a potential fight with Ben Rothwell, who has expressed his desire to face Ngannou. But the biggest MMA fight out there is with Jon Jones.
But Dana White has ruled out a cross-promotion involving Jones. He also vowed never to work with Ngannou again following his acrimonious UFC departure. There is also the question of financials. Ngannou’s purses in boxing are much higher than he can get in MMA. Since he has already been a world champion in MMA, does he have the hunger to do the same again? That may not be the case with boxing, as he does have plenty to prove.
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