PFL heavyweight Francis Ngannou is here to stay.
The 37 year-old “Predator” is just a couple of days away from his Anthony Joshua boxing match at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and plans to continue his career in the “sweet science” through late 2024 and beyond.
Even with a loss to Joshua on DAZN (stream it here).
“I will definitely still do some MMA fights, but I’m not leaving boxing,” Ngannou said during Monday’s Grand Arrivals (transcribed by MMA Fighting). “Remember, at the beginning, it was boxing. I wasn’t aware of MMA. And for more than a decade, it was all about boxing, dreaming about boxing.”
“Even when the opportunity came around [in MMA], it was, for me, an opportunity to shine, to be a world champion, and then potentially switch to do the crossover and go back to boxing, because I feel like it was something that I needed, I had to fulfill in order to be at peace with myself,” Ngannou continued. “In order to retire peacefully, I needed to do that boxing because I just love it. I can’t tell you why, but I love it and I enjoy it.”
Probably not what PFL wants to hear.
The promotion signed Ngannou early last year but has yet to get “The Predator” inside the SmartCage. That’s because Ngannou over-performed against Tyson Fury to close out 2023, elevating him from gimmick fight to legit WBC heavyweight contender.
Making Renan Ferreira a champion without a challenger.
“[Ngannou] is on this boxing adventure that is opening many doors and I have huge respect for him, but he has a contract with PFL,” Ferreira told Guilherme Cruz. “Like I said, I’m ready to box him as well, I’m ready to fight him in MMA. Wherever they want, I’ll be ready. At the moment, we will sit and we will wait. I’ll get some rest.”
Ferreira won his “champion vs. champion” super fight against Ryan Bader last weekend in Riyadh, earning the Brazilian first crack at Ngannou — if and when the Cameroonian slugger finds his way to the PFL cage at some point later this year.
“I’ve been fighting in [PFL tournaments] for three years and it’s very exhausting,” Ferreira continued. “I fought in November and had no rest, I had to fight in February already, so my body is tired now. I need some time to recover physically and go back to training, so I’ll be waiting for this fight, quite anxiously. I’m very happy for this opportunity, and I hope it happens soon.”
For more on Ngannou’s upcoming fight against Joshua click here.