Francis Ngannou responds to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh saying he loves 'The Predator' "like a brother" but wants "someone to stop" him
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou recently responded to a friendly jibe by Saudi Arabia's Minister of Entertainment, Turki Alalshikh.
Alalshikh, who has overseen an influx of boxing events in the Kingdom, was present at a promotional event for Joshua vs. Ngannou and expressed his support for 'The Predator' while also mentioning his hope that Ngannou will find a challenge. He said:
“I hope – I will tell all the people said to me don’t talk like this. Ngannou, but I think you will understand me. You know I look [love] to you as a brother, but I want someone to stop you. I want the boxing… [He is looking for some body from the world of boxing to stop you] And I think it will be tough match, you see the last version of Joshua, we get him back."
"And I think it will be something huge, the result of this match it will go in the future. And in ’24 we will try with Eddie [Hearn] and Frank [Warren] to deliver to the market very big fight. This is the important thing.”
Francis Ngannou had a prompt response for Alalshikh and assured him that he hasn't found an opponent to stop him yet.
“Keep looking, keep looking brother, you haven’t find [found] it [him] yet.”
Check out their exchange below:
Francis Ngannou says he's 'not done with MMA': "I'm a guy who fights"
Francis Ngannou is yet to fight in an MMA setting since his exit from the UFC last year. Ngannou last fought in his title defense against Ciryl Gane in January 2022. He has since made his professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury and showcased his adaptability to the boxing ring with a solid performance.
In a recent interview with DAZN, Francis Ngannou stated that he has not forsaken MMA and attributed his rise in the world of combat sports to MMA fans:
“It’s a combination. I’m a guy who fights, I mean, I don’t really like to get hit, but I like to hit people. Anytime when there’s some good person to hit in a big fight, ring me up, I will come and try to hit and not get hit. That’s what matters."
"At this point, I’m not done with MMA. I can tell you that I’m not done with MMA, because I still believe that there’s still some great fights out there that I can still offer fans. My MMA fans were my base, who also helped me to get to this position, so I’m still thinking about how to work with that community.”
Check out Francis Ngannou's full comments below (1:07:08):