Francis Ngannou hopes to secure a rematch with Tyson Fury sometime in 2025.
The PFL Super Fights heavyweight champion made his boxing debut against Fury in October 2023.
Ngannou shocked the world when he dropped 'The Gypsy King', forcing him into a controversial split decision. 'The Predator' triumphed in defeat as it earned him another monstrous payday against former two-time world champion boxer Anthony Joshua.
'AJ' knocked the ex-UFC star out cold in March. Ngannou returned to MMA in October to beat Renan Ferreira, but now he is eyeing a third trip to the squared circle after seeing Fury lose to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Francis Ngannou wants a Tyson Fury rematch
Fury's second consecutive loss to Usyk seemingly sets up a highly anticipated fight with Joshua.
However, Ngannou does not want to talk about the British blockbuster. The 38-year-old wants to get the ball rolling on his potential rematch with Fury, rather than breathe life into a fight between his former opponents.
“What I want to see now is Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou. That is all that matters to me,” he said during an interview with Pro Boxing Fans on Sunday.
As for the fight itself, Ngannou thought Usyk vs Fury 2 was closer than the judges thought.
Usyk received unanimous 116-12 scorecards from the three ringside officials.
Ngannou added: “I think the fight was pretty close.
“I would have scored the fight closer. Maybe Usyk still wins. I mean, at the end of the fight I wasn't sure if anyone was the winner because anyone could have been the winner. According to my scorecard it was closer than that.”
An AI judge used for the first time at the event had the undefeated Ukrainian by an even bigger margin of 118-112, prompting a rude response from Fury during his post-fight press conference.
Ngannou thinks the technology still needs some refinement before it solves boxing's judging problem.
“AI may be intelligent, but AI doesn't understand sports well,” he continued.
“It is a man's sport, not a machine sport. I think AI is still, regardless of everything, still a machine that works automatically. I don't think AI has all the details or data to score a boxing match today.”
Francis Ngannou is done chasing Jon Jones
If Ngannou isn't fighting Fury, the biggest MMA fight he can organize is against Jon Jones.
However, it seems highly unlikely that the UFC will co-promote with the PFL in 2025.
The UFC heavyweight champion has long been a target for Ngannou, but now he's tired of chasing MMA's biggest fighter.
When asked about the possible clash by Seconds Out, he replied: “It's been four years since I said it; I'm confused that people keep asking me this question.”
At this point the interviewer pressed the matter and asked if there was any chance we could see the fight, to which the fighter raged, “That's not my problem, I don't care anymore. If it happens, yes, if it doesn't happen, f*** it.”
UFC boss Dana White has a '100 percent' guarantee that Jones will next face interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, while Ngannou's future is slightly less clear as he continues to weigh his options in MMA and boxing.
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