Khamzat Chimaev calls out Francis Ngannou in unexpected challenge outside of the UFC
Khamzat Chimaev has issued a rather unexpected challenge to the former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
'Borz' took to Twitter to call out 'The Predator' for a grappling match outside of the UFC and said:
"Let's make grappling match @francis_ngannou"
Take a look at the tweet below:
🏼Let’s make grappling match @francis_ngannou 🤝✊🏼
It is worth noting that Khamzat Chimaev's fighting weight is about 100 pounds lighter than Francis Ngannou's and because of the same a potential matchup of any kind between the two is next to impossible.
'Borz' was last seen in the octagon back in September last year against Kevin Holland at UFC 279. On the flip side, Ngannou had his last fight inside the octagon against Ciryl Gane in January last year.
'The Predator' then went on to leave the UFC following an unsuccessful contract renewal and has been a free agent since then.
Francis Ngannou next fight: Is 'The Predator' signing with ONE Championship?
Ngannou has been looking for a new promotion ever since leaving the UFC last year. Most recently, the former UFC heavyweight champion sat down for negotiations with the CEO of ONE Championship, Chatri Sityodtong.
However, much like what has happened with Francis Ngannou so far, he failed to come to terms with the organization. Speaking to Daily Star Sport, Sityodtong claimed that 'The Predator' was being rather unreasonable with his demands.
Despite not being able to come to terms with ONE Championship, it looks like Francis Ngannou has found a new home. According to Ariel Helwani, the former UFC heavyweight champion is close to signing a deal with another promotion. While nothing seems certain at the moment, it looks like Ngannou is headed to the PFL.
Claiming that Ngannou's negotiations with ONE Championship ended because 'The Predator' had already verbally committed to someone, Ariel Helwani said:
"Francis is very close to signing a new deal with another promotion. According to Francis, he was very upfront about this. They [Ngannou and Chatri Sityodtong of ONE Championship] left the meeting on good terms, but both of them came to an understanding that because he had already verbally committed to someone, it's more than likely he's not going to ONE... I thought it was really interesting when I asked him [Ngannou] about PFL [Professional Fighters League], that was the one that really got him fired up."
Catch Ariel Helwani's comments below:
Ariel Helwani reveals Francis Ngannou is on the verge of signing new deal with PFL https://t.co/rFxApuIxQq