Francis Ngannou could return to boxing in 2025.
The MMA legend impressed many when he made the move to the squared circle in his debut in the sport last year, dropping Tyson Fury.
A controversial split-decision loss against one of the best paved the way for Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua, which ended in a sickening second-round knockout loss for the boxing novice.
Francis Ngannou's boxing career seemed over when he returned to MMA and became the inaugural PFL superfighting heavyweight champion with a quick knockout of Renan Ferreira in October.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
What's next for Francis Ngannou?
There appears to be a distinct lack of viable opponents for Francis Ngannou in the PFL, besides recent $1 million heavyweight tournament winner Denis Goltsov.
Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh has suggested the Cameroonian knockout artist's next fight could be in boxing against former WBC champion Deontay Wilder.
Firstly, he wants to check whether 'The Bronze Bomber' is fight-ready after shocking defeats in back-to-back fights against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.
'I have to sit with Wilder [for] two minutes to check his condition,” Alalshikh told DAZN on Tuesday.
“I can catch it from two minutes in [and check] whether he is ready or not. I don't want to waste any more time and money. I have to see if he still has it first.
“Franciscus will come to me in December to watch the film [Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury] retake. We have many things together.
“Yes, I have two options on the table for Francis. I want to discuss one in MMA and one in boxing with him.'
Turki Alalshikh wants to make a cross-promotional fight between Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones, but accepts this could be difficult if UFC CEO Dana White is against the idea.
He added: “The MMA [fight]You know, my answer is always: We want to do the biggest things… We have to send Dana White to the moon [laughs].”
Michael Bisping rules out UFC-PFL co-promotion
UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping seriously doubts Ngannou vs Jones will ever happen.
The former middleweight champion turned MMA commentator believes his bosses will gain nothing from cross-promotion with their biggest rival
“I don't think it's going to happen,” Bisping said during an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow.
“Why? I understand that money talks, and you never know, maybe a huge amount of money will show up from one of the parties in Saudi Arabia and maybe the deal will be done.
“On a business level, if so [the UFC] was my organization that I had built for 30 years, on which this sport was based, and then there is PFL…
“I'm just saying, if it was my business, who's going to get more profit from it?” Who benefits from it? The PFL. The PFL will then be held in the same manner as the UFC.
“Yes, it would be a great fight, and we all want to see it. Of course we do, we all want the best to fight the best.
“But if I was running the UFC, I'd say, 'No way! We have tried to fight that battle. We offered him a lot of money, but he didn't want to do it. It's a shame'. I wouldn't cross-promote at this point.”
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