Lineal UFC champion and boxing standout Francis Ngannou is eyeing up his next opponent under Queensberry Rules. The Cameroonian athlete wants Deontay Wilder.
Francis Ngannou vs. Deontay Wilder
Francis Ngannou, of Cameroon, was able to win the UFC heavyweight title by way of knockout and then defend this throne before walking away from the organization. The lineal champion later began boxing and has had two matches against world champions including Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. These blockbuster matches went down in Saudi Arabia.
In the PFL, Francis Ngannou will return to MMA later this year against Renan Ferreira on October 19. Renan Ferreira is a PFL champion who recently knocked out the Bellator heavyweight titleholder in just a matter of seconds.
But, ‘The Predator’ Ngannou wants to do both boxing and MMA. He recently said that ‘The Bronze Bomber’ Deontay Wilder would make a great opponent. Speaking to Gareth A Davies, he explained:
“Absolutely, I would love that fight … Pure boxing. Don’t be delusional here, [boxing] is where we will both stand a chance. If we go mixed martial arts, there would only be one man standing … close to too easy.”
In MMA, facing a professional boxer would be too easy for an MMA veteran like Francis Ngnnou. With skills in wrestling and a background in kickboxing, Ngannou is too well-rounded under MMA rules. But in boxing Ngannou believes it would be a fair fight.
The US-born Deontay Wilder was known for his stunning knockout power, winning a whopping 97% of all of his matches by way of KO/TKO. He captured the WBC heavyweight title in 2015 and held it for five years. Since 2020 he has had a mix of wins and losses at the highest level of boxing. Most recently, he is coming off of a knockout loss the China’s Zhilei Zhang.
Francis Ngannou expresses interest in a fight against Deontay Wilder
“Don’t be delusional here, [boxing] is where we will both stand a chance.”
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— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 24, 2024
