“It’s not over yet, not at all. We’re just getting started.”
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou got put to sleep by Anthony Joshua during their boxing pay-per-view (PPV) spectacle earlier this month in Riyadh, a lopsided loss that looked nothing like his breakout performance against Tyson Fury late last year.
The loss to “AJ” was expected to send “The Predator” to PFL MMA, where heavyweight titan Renan Ferreira awaits. But it sounds like Ngannou is hoping the equity built up in the wake of his “Gypsy King” showing will lead to another high-profile boxing match.
In short, the 37 year-old Ngannou is keeping his options open.
“Right now, I don’t know exactly what the fight I will be looking for next,” Ngannou said during Instagram Live. “I know that I’m going to take some time to rest up, focus on myself, and then when I’m ready I will get back to training. Therefore we can start to discuss the fights. As for now, we will just live the life. Because always remember, it doesn’t matter what is your profession, there’s always a life, we have a life going on that will continue to go.”
No doubt Ngannou will need extra time off in the wake of his concussion.
“I’m not done with boxing, I’m not done with MMA,” Ngannou continued. “Basically right now, I have an opponent now in the PFL in Renan Ferreira. That will be my future opponent in the PFL, but again, I basically have a lot of fights in the future. I can still combine [sports], I will still be back in action. Not because I’m more comfortable in MMA that I will let boxing go. I’m still going to do both.”
That could result in a PFL logjam as Ferreira has opted to “sit and wait.”
“It’s part of what we do,” Ngannou said. “We take challenges. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t work. But we are working on it. It’s not over yet, not at all. We’re just getting started. The only thing that we will miss this year is time, and I think we have some good amount of time ahead of us. Going to take some time for myself, chill, spend time with my family, my friends and then come back ready.”
Ngannou, who departed UFC and signed with PFL in early 2023, has not seen a cage fight since decisioning Ciryl Gane in Jan. 2022. “The Predator” was expected to make his “SmartCage” debut in 2024; however, Ngannou doesn’t sound ready to commit.