“I think I have to earn that Francis fight, he’s busy for a little while.”
Impa Kasangany’s career turnaround is fully underway.
Despite breaking even with a .500 record in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) where he went 2-2 (15-3 overall), Kasanganay’s run is most infamously remembered for his knockout loss to Joaquin Buckley (the first of his career). The stunning spinning back-kick defeat will live on forever in highlight reels, but ultimately acted as the catalyst to lead Kasangany down a better and more successful path.
The 29-year-old rebounded from the loss with a second round rear-naked choke of Sasha Palatnikov before being released from UFC off a first round technical knockout against Carlston Harris. This stint also concluded the end of Kasanganay’s time at Welterweight as he fought twice more and went 1-1 post-UFC before signing with Professional Fighters League (PFL). Five fights later in 2023, he’s a $1 million-winning Light Heavyweight champion. Kasanganay expressed interest in even bigger and better challenges, teasing a Heavyweight collision with Francis Ngannou as soon as he earned his crown. Admitting to some necessary patience requirements, Kasanganay only wants the stiffest of challenges going forward.
“I think I have to earn that Francis fight, he’s busy for a little while, so maybe catch him and schedule it 2026, 2027,” Kasangnay told MMA Mania at the 2023 World MMA Awards in Las Vegas. “But I want to fight him when he’s young. That way there’s honor to it. I’d say [Bellator Light Heavyweight champion, Vadim] Nemkov and [Bellator Middleweight champion, Johnny] Eblen are the guys who are most realistic that will come next year.”
The acquisition of Bellator by PFL leaves no shortage of options for Kasangany in 2024. While four fights to win and become a champion is the norm in a PFL season, Kasanganay fought five times because he went through the Challenger Series early in the year.
Although the volume was a rarity in modern-day mixed martial arts (MMA), Kasanganay still doesn’t think it’s enough.
“I’m ready to get back to it, I love to fight,” Kasanganay said. “I want to fight five fights next year, six fights, it would be great. I was thinking they could extend the PFL season, get eight fights in would be really cool. I love it. But you hear about guys like Nemkov, Francis Ngannou, that’s a fight that I want, you see Eblen, right? My friend, Aaron Jeffery, shoutout to him, he’s deserving of a title shot. But I’ve been hearing talk about so many different fights. So, I want to fight the best of the best. We’ve got Eblen, Nemkov, and Ngannou, go back into the season next year and take over and get another title so that’s what I’m gonna do.”