Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou challenged UFC star Jon Jones to a fight that would determine the top heavyweight fighter in MMA.

"We both want this fight, for sure," Ngannou said in an interview with TMZ Sports. "It would be a good fight for us."

Jones successfully defended the UFC heavyweight title with his third-round TKO of Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on Nov. 16. He originally captured the gold in March 2023, beating Ciryl Gane, after the belt was vacated due Ngannou's contract standoff with the promotion.

Ngannou, meanwhile, knocked out Renan Ferreira in his PFL debut. It was his first MMA fight in more than two years, and he showed fans he remains a heavyweight to be feared.

There's still no love lost between Ngannou and UFC president Dana White, with the PFL star asserting that White is "only guy standing in the way" of an encounter with Jones.

Those comments came after White downplayed Ngannou's victory and said the 38-year-old is "all about the money" while arguing he ducked a prospective Jones bout.

As long as they're fighting in separate companies, Jones vs. Ngannou will remain a pipe dream despite whatever stances they take publicly.

Jake Paul is the hottest commodity in all of combat sports, and multiple stars are vying for the opportunity to do business with the YouTuber.

After Paul defeated boxing legend Mike Tyson via unanimous decision on Friday in the first combat sports event to be streamed live on Netflix, the 27-year-old was the most popular name on social media as boxers and MMA fighters alike called him out for a future showdown.

Francis Ngannou, Ryan Garcia, KSI, and Artur Beterbiev were among those to throw their hats in the ring for a chance to square off with Paul:

While many criticized Paul for his lackluster showing against Tyson and his cherry-picked matchups, there's no denying that he's a cash cow. He previously said that he was making $40 million for Friday's fight, while Tyson reportedly took home $20 million. The fight broke numerous gate and streaming records, making Paul the biggest draw in boxing.

Paul's next move has yet to be revealed, but it can be expected that it will be another huge spectacle that will produce a major payday for all involved.

Deontay Wilder is willing to discuss a proposed fight with Francis Ngannou after recuperating from a shoulder injury.

Wilder told TMZ Sports that's a "conversation I'm still looking to get in the mix and talk about it." He added that "there's been a lot of offers coming in" in general.

A battle between "The Bronze Bomber" and Ngannou has been thrown around for more than a year now. Wilder floated the idea of a two-fight deal in February 2023 so that they could cross paths under boxing and MMA rules.

After Wilder lost to Joseph Parker last December, Ngannou made it clear he still wanted the former WBC heavyweight champion:

More recently, he told Lewis Thompson of talkSPORT in August that he "would love that fight."

"It's a fight that I want, I always wanted that fight," Ngannou said. "At some point we had a discussion that didn't go too far, but we wanted to make this fight happen."

The PFL star specified he'd only want to box against Wilder because "that's where we both stand a chance."

In terms of the box office potential, this matchup probably isn't what it would've been a year or two ago.

Wilder has dropped four of his last five fights, most recently suffering a fifth-round TKO at the hands of Zhilei Zhang. Ngannou, meanwhile, was knocked out in the second round by Anthony Joshua this past March, and it doesn't look like that was as much of a moneymaker as his 2023 bout with Tyson Fury.

Still, both fighters remain notable names in combat sports and stand to gain a lot from headlining a major card.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou said during an interview on Sirius XM Fight Nation's MMA Today that UFC president Dana White still owes him money.

"Which money is he talking about? The money that he owes me?," Ngannou said in response to recent comments White made during a press conference leading up to UFC 308 (h/t ESPN's Andreas Hale).

"Remember, all of this ended with [them] saying, 'Oh, we'll backpay you from the money that we owe you for the Stipe [Miocic] and Ciryl Gane fight,' all of that. They never back paid me. Now I have made more money than I have ever made in the UFC - I would say twice the money that I could have ever made in my entire UFC career if I had continued in the UFC.

"Either way, if I had made less money, if I'm not making enough money that I could've made in the UFC, that's my problem. Why is he so pissed about me not making that much money? Like, c'mon man, live your life."

White had this to say about Ngannou, who left UFC in January 2023 and signed with PFL four months later.

"Francis left because he knew that if he fought Jon Jones and didn't win, it would hurt his chances of making the money that he wanted to make," White said.

"But realistically, his deal was bigger here. His deal was bigger here if he stayed in the UFC. They can deny it all they want, why the f--k would I lie? Why do I care? It doesn't matter to me one way or the other... he would have made more money if he stayed in the UFC.""

As Hale noted, Ngannou was allowed to pursue outside opportunities after signing with the PFL. He fought heavyweight boxing titans Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, reportedly making $20 million for both bouts, per Hale.

Ngannou said in an interview on the The Last Stand podcast last November (h/t Ryan Harkness of MMA Mania) that he made more from the Fury fight that he ever had in his entire UFC career.

"First off all, whatever would have been my next fight, from the moment that I left the UFC, was going to be way different from what I made," Ngannou said in part.

"Because in the past three years in the UFC, I was in a contract issue that I didn't want to sign a new contract that would have given me more money, but not enough, right? Also the conditions and the terms which would have prevented me from doing boxing, which was one of my ultimate dreams that I wanted to do.

"So, it would have been different, even from my next MMA fight, completely different," Ngannou continued. "It's at least more than everything that I have earned in my life, in my career. You have to understand that I wasn't getting much pay."

Obviously, fans would love to see a superfight between Ngannou and Jon Jones, the current UFC heavyweight champion. Jones, arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in UFC history, is 27-1 lifetime with one no-contest. His only real competition at this point would be Ngannou, a tremendous fighter who more than held his own against Fury and Joshua in the boxing ring.

Ngannou is 18-3 lifetime in MMA, but he's on a seven-match win streak. He left UFC as the promotion's champion and just won the PFL Super Fights Heavyweight Championship with a first-round knockout of Renan Ferreira.

He's clearly on the record as stating, though, that White is the one in the way of the Jones fight.

"The only guy standing in the way of that fight is Dana White," Ngannou said. "I want the Jon Jones fight. I'm down for the fight. Jones is down for the fight. But this is a new narrative. I was down for a Jon Jones fight three years ago and I am down for it now."

This isn't the first time that there's been an incredible amount of red tape and drama in between two superstar fighters facing each other, and it won't be the last. Whether Jones and Ngannou end up getting this time is up for debate, but for now, it doesn't appear that the two are close to fighting in the Octagon.

UFC president Dana White is continuing his war of words with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who was recently crowned PFL Super Fights heavyweight champion after a first-round knockout victory over Renan Ferreira this past Saturday.

When asked about Ngannou's performance in his PFL debut, White declared that the 38-year-old is "all about the money." He also claimed that Ngannou would've made more money had he stayed in the UFC.

Ngannou departed the UFC after his contract expired in January 2023. He hadn't fought in a year after suffering a knee injury when he defeated interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane in a title unification fight at UFC 270 in January 2022.

Upon leaving the UFC, Ngannou signed a multi-fight deal with PFL that allowed him to book high-profile boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. While he lost both bouts, he proved his star power in the marquee matchups that drew large audiences.

Still, White hasn't gotten over Ngannou's success outside of the UFC. He declared, "Nobody wants to fight in the f--king PFL except for Francis." However, he claimed that he was ready to cut Ngannou after he lost back-to-back fights in 2018, but someone at the UFC "begged" him to keep him on the roster. If he didn't want Ngannou in the UFC in the first place, it's not clear why it irks him that he's fighting in the PFL.

White also re-asserted the claim that Ngannou "didn't want to fight Jon Jones, that's a fact." However, it was White who said at the UFC 260 post-fight press conference in 2021 after Ngannou defeated Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title, "If I'm Jon Jones and I'm at home watching this fight, I start moving to 185 pounds."

When asked further at the time if a fight between Ngannou and Jones was a possibility, White responded, "Listen, I could sit here all day and tell you, what 'Show me the money' means. You can say you want to fight someone, but do you really want to?" He was referencing a tweet from Jones, indicating that it was Jones who was stopping the fight from happening.

Now, Jones is scheduled to defend the heavyweight title against Miocic in the main event of UFC 309 on Nov. 16. It will be Jones' first fight since winning the title in March 2023, as he was recovering from a torn labrum.

For his part, Ngannou hasn't dug too deep when going back and forth with White, simply claiming that he left the UFC to gain more control over his career, which is exactly what he got with the PFL.

"The guy who controls the narrative can say what he wants," Ngannou said at a news conference in August. "But that's not the narrative. I requested the Jon Jones fight. But I didn't want it to be a trap to get into a new deal with the UFC that I didn't want."

The next chapter of Francis Ngannou's MMA career got off to a strong start as The Predator earned the PFL's Heavyweight Superfight Championship with a first-round TKO win over Renan Ferreira at the PFL's pay-per-view card from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

After the fight, Ngannou dedicated the win to his 15-month-old son Kobe, who died in April.

"Without Kobe, we wouldn't be here tonight," Ngannou said. "I hope they can remember his name."

Ngannou wasted little time in showing that he remembered he can wrestle in MMA.

That early takedown marked the beginning of the end for Ferreira. Ngannou maintained top position, fought off a triangle choke attempt from his opponent before getting Ferreira's back and going for the TKO.

He rained down strikes until the referee was forced to call the bout.

The win marked the first time that Ngannou has fought in MMA since his contract with the UFC expired in early 2022. The former heavyweight champion entered free agency after his title defense against Ciryl Gane.

Ngannou ultimately landed with the PFL. Part of that decision was because the organization was willing to allow him to pursue his dream of boxing.

The power puncher went on to fight boxing star Tyson Fury to a split-decision before getting knocked out by Anthony Joshua.

The second loss prompted him to return to the cage. That's where he has made his name, but he hasn't ruled out a return to boxing, noting that he feels like he has a few fights in both sports before it's time for him to hand up the gloves.

"I have an appetite to go back into boxing," Ngannou told Mike Bohn in an interview for MMA Junkie (h/t A.K. Jones of DAZN. "For sure, I still have a couple fights in both left. I just turned 38, so I will say my retirement when I start getting around 41 or 42. It could be 40, but this is just in an exceptional case. This time I think I really have to enjoy my time inside the octagon and inside the ring, and then have my last dance and go home."

Ngannou's loss to Anthony Joshua was a definitive statement that Ngannou is a long way from competing with the elite in boxing. The Fury performance was impressive but he isn't exactly known for his consistency.

This victory showed that Ngannou is still capable of putting on elite performances against top heavyweights. Ferreira hasn't won in the UFC, but he did win the PFL's heavyweight tournament and knocked out Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader.

The question will quickly shift to whether PFL can find another challenge for Ngannou that will bring attention to the promotion.

The Professional Fighters League announced Wednesday that Francis Ngannou will make his promotional debut against PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira on Oct. 19.

Ngannou vs. Ferreira will headline the pay-per-view on ESPN+, while Cris Cyborg will face Larissa Pacheco in the co-main event.

Although Ngannou signed with PFL in May 2023, he has not competed in an MMA bout since his final fight with UFC in January 2022.

The 37-year-old Ngannou made his UFC debut in 2015 and went on to become one of the best heavyweights in the history of the promotion.

After losing back-to-back fights to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis in 2018, Ngannou won each of his final six UFC bouts, including beating Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title in 2021.

Ngannou's final UFC fight was a win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. That bout marked the end of Ngannou's contract, and when he and UFC could not come to terms on a new deal, he vacated the heavyweight title.

Rather than jumping right back into the cage, Ngannou tried his hand at boxing following his UFC departure.

In his first professional boxing match, Ngannou pushed Tyson Fury to the limit, losing by split decision in somewhat controversial fashion.

At the time, Fury was undefeated and was the reigning WBC world heavyweight champion, although he went on to lose to Oleksandr Usyk in a unification bout in May.

Given the success of his first fight, Ngannou boxed again, taking on former world heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua. That outing was nowhere near as competitive, as Joshua beat Ngannou by second-round knockout.

Ngannou will be in a more comfortable and familiar environment in PFL, and he will have an opportunity to make a massive impact in his first PFL bout.

Ferreira, 34, is a 6'8" heavyweight from Brazil who beat Denis Goltsov in the PFL heavyweight title tournament final last year. He followed that up with a win over Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in just 21 seconds in February.

All told, Ferreira is 13-3 with 11 wins by way of knockout during his career, whereas Ngannou is 17-3 with 12 knockouts.