Francis Ngannou set to return to MMA after two-fight boxing stint, location and opponent revealed
Francis Ngannou has not competed in mixed martial arts since defeating Ciryl Gane via unanimous decision to defend his heavyweight title at UFC 270 in January 2022. Since then, he has left the UFC, signed with the PFL, and competed in two high-profile boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
While many had wondered if 'The Predator' would ever make his promotional debut, Donn Davis recently revealed that his return to action will be in mixed martial arts and not boxing. Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, the PFL founder stated:
"People asked me before the [Ngannou vs. Joshua] fight when I was interviewed who do I think will win, who do I want to win. And I obviously root for Francis all the time. He's our partner and I truly do, but he would not have fought in MMA until the first quarter of 2025. We talked to him about that and I was very vocal about that. That he would have absolutely fought, but it would've been December at the earliest. More likely February of 2025."
Davis continued:
"He was locked in, but he would've then gone ahead and fought Fury as we all said, had he won this fight so it would have delayed. 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 [Renan Ferreira] in what I believe is going to be the fight I'm looking forward to the most in the heavyweight division in all of MMA."
Check out Donn Davis' comments on Francis Ngannou's return to MMA below:
Davis added that the card will be a pay-per-view, with Cris Cyborg taking on Larissa Pacheco in the co-main event and Cedric Doumbe facing an unannounced opponent. He noted that it will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, the promotion will not announce the full details for another two months.
Francis Ngannou claims boxing owes him something
Francis Ngannou suffered a vicious second-round knockout loss against Anthony Joshua in his second career professional boxing bout earlier this month. While many believed he would walk away from the sport, 'The Predator' revealed that is not the case during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, stating:
"Right now, I don't know. I started to feel like boxing, it now owes me something that I have to claim. The way that this fight happened is not the way that it's supposed to or that it should've so I think now I need to do boxing to claim something, to claim my respect, to claim my dignity, to claim everything."
Check out Francis Ngannou's comments on his return to combat sports below:
Ngannou acknowledged that his return to mixed martial arts could come first. It is unclear who the former UFC heavyweight champion would face if and when he makes his return to boxing.