Francis Ngannou's boxing losses changed his initial MMA plans, says PFL chairman as he shares timeline and undercard details
PFL co-founder Donn Davis recently shared his thoughts on Francis Ngannou making his promotional debut this year and how the Cameroonian's two boxing losses changed his mind about returning to MMA.
In his second professional boxing match, Ngannou recently lost to Anthony Joshua via second-round knockout. Before that, the former UFC heavyweight champion pushed WBC heavyweight king Tyson Fury to his limits in his boxing debut. However, Fury ultimately won the fight via split decision.
Ngannou notably signed a bumper deal with the PFL after exiting the UFC in January 2023. However, he has yet to make his promotional debut. During a recent chat with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Davis revealed that Ngannou's return to MMA under the PFL banner was close. Crediting the Joshua loss for pushing Ngannou's promotional debut up, he said:
"People asked me before the fight, when I was interviewed, you know, ‘Who do I think will win? Who would I want to win?’ And I obviously root for Francis all the time... He would not have fought in MMA until the first quarter of 2025 [if he won]. We talked to him about that... He would have absolutely fought, but it would have been December at the earliest, more likely February of 2025."
He continued:
"So I’m rooting for Francis all the time, but now he’s coming back early. Will it be as early as July? Maybe. Will it be as late as September? No later. But you’ll see Francis now in 2024, in PFL, against 'La Problemo' [Renan Ferreira] in what I believe is going to be the fight I’m looking forward to the most in the heavyweight division of all of MMA."
Eddie Hearn reacts to Francis Ngannou attributing Anthony Joshua loss to early arena arrival
Eddie Hearn recently shared his thoughts on Francis Ngannou, blaming his early arrival to the event arena for his loss to Anthony Joshua.
As mentioned, Ngannou fought Joshua in his second professional boxing match earlier this month at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He lost the fight via second-round knockout. During a conversation with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour after the fight, he said:
"What I think something happened is that they got me to the arena very early, my pickup time was 10:30 PM. But when we arrived at the arena, they told us we were scheduled around 1:45 AM... I'm there at the Arena at least two hours before [Joshua]. They do this kind of trick to make you tired."
Catch Francis Ngannou's comments below (5:32):
Joshua's longtime promoter wasn't happy about Ngannou's statements. Hearn took to social media to react and, in a now-deleted tweet, wrote:
"I'm not sure he has come round yet."