Former UFC star wants to 'take out' Francis Ngannou in PFL: "Set it up and send the contract"
Francis Ngannou is a desired fight for many in the worlds of both MMA and boxing, and one of PFL's champions is among those who have indicated interest in the potential bout.
Impa Kasanganay will battle with Dovlet Yagshimuradov for the 2024 light heavyweight tournament title as he looks to win the 205-pound crown for the second consecutive year. The two men will battle on a night where several tournament titles will be claimed and it all goes down on Nov. 29.
Appearing on Bowks Talking Bouts, Kasanganay was asked to look beyond his immediate Friday night task and outline some matchups that he would like to get locked into for the future.
When discussing his desire to move up and take on the lineal MMA heavyweight champion while indicating a tremendous level of respect for Ngannou, Kasanganay had quite the vision for the desired bout location when he said:
"Let's re-do the Rumble in the Jungle but better in an MMA way. Let's do it in Cameroon where he's from. Let's show people what African MMA and what the next stage of what the African continent, what they can bring to it... Why not bring people there and show them the beauty of these parts? No disrespect to Francis.
"Like I said I didn't call him out as much after the passing of his son. It was a personal thing that I wanted to respect him by. But I really respect him, who he is, and the fact that he fought hard. If this interview goes by Francis Ngannou and he hears this like set it up and send the contract."
Check out Impa Kasanganay's vision for a PFL fight against Francis Ngannou below (9:43):
Francis Ngannou's role within PFL Africa
This scenario Impa Kasanganay laid out for a desired Francis Ngannou fight makes a lot of sense in several regards. The Africa division of the PFL is one that looks to be getting a lot of focus in the future and Ngannou is its chairman.
That tendril to the PFL nucleus follows previous efforts with PFL Europe and PFL MENA to create regional leagues whereby standout fighters eventually vault themselves to the main PFL stage. With the PFL Africa launch set for next year, a card headlined by the PFL Africa chairman and PFL's super fight heavyweight champion would certainly kick off that launch effort in a massive way.
The 38-year-old Ngannou made his promotional debut in the PFL when he finished last season's heavyweight tournament winner Renan Ferreira. It remains to be seen what is next for 'The Predator' but the pitch from Kasanganay might have all the ingredients to entice the Cameroon native to get on board.