Ngannou Wants The Fury Rematch; Ngannou’s PFL Debut
After their first fight, Francis Ngannou is desperately chasing a rematch with Tyson Fury.
On October 28, 2023, they faced off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Fury as the big favourite. The WBC heavyweight champion secured the win but did not have it all his own way. Ngannou dropped him in the third round and continued to pressure Fury on the back foot.
This caused some to believe Ngannou had been robbed of a win. Following the fight, Ngannou called for a rematch. Fury would instead sign to fight Oleksandr Usyk for undisputed, which takes place on February 17, 2024. Since then, Ngannou has agreed a deal to face Anthony Joshua on March 8/9, 2024. Provided Fury and Ngannou come through their fights without any injuries, he wanted to run things back.
Ngannou On Fury
“I’m not looking for the winner of Tyson Fury [and Usyk]. I’m looking for Tyson. Tyson owes me a fight. I don’t give a s— about the winner of Usyk and Tyson. I’m coming after Tyson. Win or lose, I want Tyson. He’s seen me box already, so he knows a little bit what is coming… Unlike Tyson Fury, that was out of the blue, didn’t know what to expect. Joshua kind of knows what to expect. I think this time I need to put it up even more to get the job done,” Ngannou said
Ngannou’s words have raised question marks over his MMA career. He has spoken about his desire to compete in boxing and MMA. But to do so at the highest level in both is unlikely. His PFL deal gave him the option to box, which he has taken up, hoping to make his PFL debut in 2024. So far, nothing has materialized in that regard.
Ngannou’s MMA Future
The only fight MMA fans are keen on seeing is Ngannou against Jon Jones. That is unlikely to happen for a variety of reasons. Dana White has dismissed doing a cross-promotion, making the fight impossible unless Jones moves to the PFL. Jones is also currently out injured.
He injured his pectoral muscle in sparring, so he could not defend his UFC heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295. Another surgery on his elbow has just followed, keeping him out for much longer. Dispute the uncertainty, PFL CEO Peter Murray was confident that Ngannou would make his PFL debut this year.
“Yeah, he’s got a big fight coming up now with AJ right on the heels of shocking the world and Tyson Fury, so we’re really proud and happy for Francis, but he will be returning to the cage later this year after the Joshua fight.
“So we’re putting that fight together, and Francis is going to take on both sports, and it’s just been incredible to watch his journey and more to come there. In addition, not only will Francis return to the PFL stage in our super fights division, but we’ll be making announcements in March on PFL Africa because it is on for 2025 with Francis at the helm as our chairman,” Murray stated
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