Coming soon to a “SmartCage” near you?
Former WBC heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder is serious about crossing over to mixed martial arts (MMA) and has been calling for a potential showdown opposite ex-UFC heavyweight titleholder Francis Ngannou, long before “The Predator” shook up the boxing world against Tyson Fury in Riyadh.
So who better to welcome Ngannou to PFL MMA than “The Bronze Bomber”?
“I think that’s a good idea,” Ngannou told The MMA Hour. “In fact, we have spoken about that. In fact, that has been in the discussion. So, that’s something that can potentially happen. Deontay Wilder for a couple of months, for a little while now, has been training MMA because there’s an option here. Nothing is set, but some things have been coming to my ear, to my attention, so that’s something that makes sense.”
I can think of one PFL heavyweight who might have “Problema” with that booking.
“He’s really serious about MMA,” Ngannou continued. “I know a lot of people talk, ‘Oh, I’m going to do this in boxing and do that in MMA,’ but I think Deontay Wilder is very interested in MMA, and even just to step into the Octagon for MMA and MMA only. But, again, it’s going to be hard. It’s going to be a different beast for him. Unlike this time, that I was the one experiencing climbing the mountain, he’s going to be the one climbing the mountain.”
Ngannou, 37, is expected to make his “SmartCage” debut at some point in 2024 and securing Wilder as his opponent no longer sounds like a pipe dream, thanks to “The Predator’s” breakout boxing performance against Fury last weekend in Riyadh.
The Cameroonian slugger expects to make a decision on his next move by the end of the week.