Francis Ngannou announces return fight in MMA after Anthony Joshua boxing match

By Cole Shelton - February 22, 2024

Francis Ngannou will be returning to MMA and make his PFL debut.

Francis Ngannou

Following Ngannou becoming a free agent, he signed with PFL but said he would be exploring boxing fights first. He ended up getting a boxing match against Tyson Fury, which he lost by split decision, and will return to the boxing ring on March 8 in Saudi Arabia against Anthony Joshua.

Yet, ahead of his boxing match against Joshua, Ngannou announced he will return to MMA to face the winner of Renan Fereira vs. Ryan Bader on Saturday.

https://twitter.com/PFLMMA/status/1760729268596920462

“The PFL is excited to announce Francis Ngannou’s return to MMA in the PFL PPV Division will be against the winner of the PFL Champion vs Bellator Champion Heavyweight super fight between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader,” PFL CEO Pete Murray said in a press release. “Francis is a true combat sports icon with a global fan base and appeal. We, along with the rest of the MMA world, will be watching to see who his first opponent will be, Ferreira or Bader.”

Following the announcement, Francis Ngannou went on SportsCenter to confirm his intentions of returning to MMA.

“I think the winner of this is the guy I’m going to fight in my MMA return,” Ngannou said on SportsCenter. “It is my intention to return to the sport. When exactly, I think depends on March 8. Everything depends on March 8. (Bader and Ferreira) are both champions and one of them is going to be a champ-champ. So, I think there wasn’t a better way to find an opponent for me, since I am a champion myself, just in case you have forgotten.”

Renan Fereira is the current PFL heavyweight champion while Ryan Bader is Bellator’s heavyweight champion, as the two will be headlining Saturday’s PFL vs. Bellator card. By Ngannou and PFL announcing that he will face the winner of that fight, it only adds to the card on Saturday as the stakes for Fereira vs. Bader got that much higher.

Francis Ngannou hasn’t fought in MMA since January 2022 when he beat Ciryl Gane by decision to defend his heavyweight title. That ended up being the last fight of his deal and he ended up in free agency. Ngannou is currently 17-3 as a pro and riding a six-fight winning streak. In his MMA career, he holds notable wins over Stipe Miocic, Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Cain Velasquez, and Curtis Blaydes, twice.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Topics:

Francis Ngannou Professional Fighters League (PFL)

Looks like your ad blocker is on.

×

We rely on ads to keep creating quality content for you to enjoy for free.

Please support our site by disabling your ad blocker.

Continue without supporting us

Choose your Ad Blocker

  • Adblock Plus
  • Adblock
  • Adguard
  • Ad Remover
  • Brave
  • Ghostery
  • uBlock Origin
  • uBlock
  • UltraBlock
  • Other
  1. In the extension bar, click the AdBlock Plus icon
  2. Click the large blue toggle for this website
  3. Click refresh
  1. In the extension bar, click the AdBlock icon
  2. Under "Pause on this site" click "Always"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Adguard icon
  2. Click on the large green toggle for this website
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Ad Remover icon
  2. Click "Disable on This Website"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the orange lion icon
  2. Click the toggle on the top right, shifting from "Up" to "Down"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Ghostery icon
  2. Click the "Anti-Tracking" shield so it says "Off"
  3. Click the "Ad-Blocking" stop sign so it says "Off"
  4. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the uBlock Origin icon
  2. Click on the big, blue power button
  3. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the uBlock icon
  2. Click on the big, blue power button
  3. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the UltraBlock icon
  2. Check the "Disable UltraBlock" checkbox
  3. Marque la casilla de verificación "Desactivar UltraBlock"
  1. Please disable your Ad Blocker

If the prompt is still appearing, please disable any tools or services you are using that block internet ads (e.g. DNS Servers).

Logo