Francis Ngannou

Renan Ferreira has his sights set on a bout with Francis Ngannou.

Following his win over Ryan Bader on Saturday in the main event at PFL vs. Bellator at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Ferreira called out Ngannou for a PFL fight.

"Francis, where you at? I'm waiting for you," Ferreira said, according to Ariel Helwani.

Ferreira, the 2023 PFL heavyweight champion, took down Bader, the Bellator heavyweight champion, in just 21 seconds on Saturday.

Ferreira will now step into the ring with Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, soon.

Ngannou hinted earlier this week during an appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter that he would likely make his MMA return against the winner of Saturday's main event between Ferreira and Bader.

"I think the winner of this is the guy I'm going to fight in my MMA return," Ngannou told ESPN. "It is my intention to return to the sport. When exactly, I think depends on March 8. [Ferreira and Bader] are both champions and one of them is going to be a 'Champ Champ.' So, I think there isn't a better way to find an opponent [for me], since I am a champion myself."

The PFL then confirmed that the two would step into the ring. The fight will mark Ngannou's PFL debut.

Ngannou signed with the PFL in May 2023 but has yet to debut as he has placed more of a focus on his boxing career.

After falling to Tyson Fury via split decision in his professional boxing debut in October, Ngannou scheduled a match with former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on March 8 in Saudi Arabia.

Ngannou previously competed in UFC from 2015 to 2022, going 17-3 in that span with wins over the likes of Stipe Miocic and Ciryl Gane.

The 37-year-old defeated Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 260 in 2021 and successfully defended his title against Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. He then vacated the title after not being able to agree to terms on a new contract with the promotion.

Ferreira is now 13-3 in his PFL career following his win over Bader. In addition to Bader, he has also beaten Denis Goltsov, Jamelle Jones and Maurice Greene.

The Professional Fighters League announced Thursday that the winner of Saturday's heavyweight bout between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader will go on to face former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

According to ESPN's Brett Okamoto, Ngannou said earlier Thursday before the initial announcement was made that he anticipated fighting either Ferreira or Bader in his PFL debut:

"I think the winner of this is the guy I'm going to fight in my MMA return. It is my intention to return to the sport. When exactly, I think depends on March 8. [Ferreira and Bader] are both champions and one of them is going to be a 'champ champ.' So, I think there isn't a better way to find an opponent [for me], since I am a champion myself."

Ngannou signed with PFL back in May 2023, but he has yet to compete in a fight for the promotion due to his focus on his burgeoning boxing career.

The 37-year-old Ngannou competed in UFC from 2015 to 2022, beating Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 260 in 2021 and then successfully defending it against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022.

Ngannou and UFC were unable to come to terms on a new contract, so he vacated the title, left the promotion and signed with PFL.

The 17-3 heavyweight's PFL debut was delayed when he decided to make his pro boxing debut against undefeated world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in October.

Despite having never boxed professionally, Ngannou pushed Fury to the limit and lost by split decision, falling just short of handing the 34-0-1 Fury his first career loss.

Given the fact that Ngannou nearly beat arguably the best heavyweight boxer in the world in his boxing debut, he agreed to a second fight against former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, which will take place on March 8 in Saudi Arabia.

The result of Ngannou vs. Joshua could dictate Ngannou's future in boxing, but his MMA return is in the cards regardless, and two accomplished heavyweights will vie for the chance to welcome him back into the fold.

Ferreira, 34, is 12-3 with three no contests in his career, and 10 of his wins have come by way of knockout. He scored the biggest victory of his career in November when he beat Denis Goltsov by second-round technical knockout to win the 2023 PFL heavyweight tournament.

The 40-year-old Bader is a UFC veteran who was part of the promotion from 2008 through 2016 before moving on to Bellator.

Bader is 31-7 with one no contest, and he held both the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles in Bellator. Bader is still the Bellator heavyweight champion and is the longest-reigning champ in Bellator history.

During his time in Bellator, Bader has beaten Fedor Emelianenko, Cheick Kongo, Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis, plus he owns wins over Quinton Jackson, Ovince Saint Preux, Rashad Evans and Davis from his UFC tenure.

The winner of Ferreira vs. Bader will have a ton of momentum on their side, and a subsequent win over Ngannou would perhaps be the biggest victory in either of their careers.

The undisputed boxing heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk has been postponed after the former fighter suffered a cut during training camp.

With that in mind, ex-UFC heavyweight champion-turned-boxer Frances Ngannou suggested that his already scheduled March 8 fight against Anthony Joshua should be for the undisputed heavyweight title.

Neither Ngannou nor Joshua holds any heavyweight title belts right now.

Ngannou made his professional boxing debut against Fury and put forth a great effort before losing via split decision last October. It's certainly possible he'll be holding boxing titles someday.

Joshua once held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles but lost them to Usyk via unanimous decision in Sept. 2021. He fell in a rematch to the champion 11 months later by split decision.

Fury is the current WBC champion, while Usyk still holds the belts he won off Joshua. He retained those titles in a ninth-round knockout off Daniel Dubois last August.

Ultimately, Fury vs. Usyk should be rescheduled at some point. With that in mind, all eyes in the heavyweight world now turn to Ngannou and Joshua, who will square up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in five weeks.

Francis Ngannou is preparing for a fight with Anthony Joshua on March 8, but he's also thrown thrown out a challenge to Tyson Fury for a rematch after their memorable encounter in October.

Appearing on FS1's TMZ Sports, the former UFC heavyweight champion made it clear he wants Fury regardless of what happens in the Gypsy King's upcoming bout with Oleksandr Usyk.

"Tyson owes me a fight," Ngannou said. "I don't give a s--t about the winner of Usyk and Tyson. I'm coming after Tyson. Win or lose, I want Tyson!"

Ngannou made his professional boxing debut last year against Fury in a bout pitting the WBC champion against the former UFC heavyweight champion. He made the move to boxing after a contract dispute with UFC.

Despite being a heavy underdog going into the match, Ngannou more than held his own against Fury. He scored a knockdown late in the third round that briefly left the undefeated former champ dazed.

Fury had a 71-59 edge in total punches landed, but Ngannou had the advantage in power punches (37-32).

Scoring from the judges was as close as those stats suggest. Fury got a split decision win with two judges scoring it 96-93 and 95-94 in his favor. One judge had it 95-94 in favor of Ngannou.

The Fury-Usyk matchup is scheduled to take place on Feb. 17 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou are set to face off in a boxing match.

Combat sports insider Ariel Helwani first reported the fight:

Eddie Hearn later confirmed the fight and that there will be a press conference in London on Jan. 15.

Joshua had a bout scheduled for March, although his adversary wasn't known at the time. It appears that the MMA veteran will now be his opponent.

Ngannou signed with the Professional Fighters League in May 2023, with his contract allowing him to participate in professional boxing matches. The former UFC heavyweight champion faced off against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in his first professional bout as a boxer on Oct. 28.

Ngannou shocked the world by taking Fury the distance, narrowly losing via split decision in the end. Many were still extremely impressed with his performance against the champion, as he knocked down Fury in the third round with a left hook. He wasn't showing off his signature powerful punches throughout the entire fight, relying on a measured approach while going at Fury when he least expected him to.

He'll take on another notable heavyweight, as Joshua enters the fight with a record of 27-3 with 24 knockouts. In his last bout, Joshua defeated Otto Wallin by knockout in the fifth round on Dec. 23.

Speculation of a fight between the two has been rampant since Ngannou's matchup against Fury. Eddie Hearn, Joshua's co-promoter, discussed the possibility of the two facing off in an appearance on The MMA Hour on Dec. 11.

"I reached out to Francis Ngannou's team, and I said, 'Just to let you know, we're up for discussing the Francis Ngannou [vs.] AJ fight.' I never heard back from them," Hearn said.

However, it appears that the two sides were able to discuss the fight and reach an agreement in order to make it happen.

Francis Ngannou is feeling good about a potential fight with Deontay Wilder.

After Wilder lost a fight in an upset unanimous decision to Joseph Parker on Saturday, Ngannou took to social media to share his feelings while watching the fight.

Ngannou, who lost in a close defeat to Tyson Fury in October, has expressed interest in fighting Wilder, and seeing Wilder lose to Parker on Saturday likely raised his confidence levels.

Ngannou might be relatively new to the world of boxing, making his official debut in October, but he's not lacking any confidence following Saturday's result.

Ngannou originally trained for boxing, but ultimately went the mixed martial arts route, competing in MMA and UFC since 2013. In 2023, he signed a deal with the Professional Fighting League that allowed him to compete in other sports, such as boxing.

His boxing debut was a big one as he took on Fury. Ngannou fared well in the fight, knocking Fury down in the third round, but ultimately the fight was decided in a controversial split decision.

Now Ngannou is looking to get back in the win column, and his next fight could come against Wilder. Back in October, following the fight against Fury, Ngannou teased the possibility of a mixed-rules fight with Wilder.

Whether the two will fight is still up in the air, but Ngannou is feeling good about things after Saturday's fight.

Undefeated former boxer Andre Ward suggested this week that he would consider the possibility of coming out of retirement for an exhibition fight against Jake Paul or Logan Paul.

During an interview with TMZ Sports, Ward discussed potentially mixing it up with the social media superstars, saying: "I don't hate against it. I would probably do it for the right situation. I keep myself just good enough to where if I needed seven, eight weeks, I can take care of my business."

Ward also praised the Paul brothers and former UFC star Francis Ngannou for venturing into the world of boxing, saying: "I don't hate on it. The crossover stuff like what Jake Paul, Logan is doing, Ngannou just did, I respect it. That takes a lot of courage, takes a lot of heart."

He noted that he is a "fan" of what the Paul brothers and Ngannou are doing, and said they bring "a new audience" and "more eyeballs" to the sweet science.

Logan broke into boxing in 2018 with an exhibition fight against fellow YouTuber KSI. He went on to lose to KSI in his first professional fight, go the distance with undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. in an exhibition bout and defeat MMA fighter Dillon Danis last month.

Now, Logan is primarily focused on his career as a pro wrestler, especially after beating Rey Mysterio for WWE's United States Championship this month.

Jake followed in his brother's footsteps by having his first boxing match in 2020 and he has gone on to experience a great deal of success, posting a 7-1 record with wins over former UFC stars such as Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva and Nate Diaz.

Ngannou, who is a former UFC heavyweight champion, had arguably the most impressive boxing debut of all time, as he went the distance with undefeated heavyweight champion Tyson Fury last month, knocked him down once and narrowly lost by split decision.

Ward is one of the best boxers of his generation, as he won an Olympic gold medal in 2004 before turning pro and going a perfect 32-0 from 2004 to 2017, and winning both super middleweight and light heavyweight titles.

While Ward has been retired for over six years, it may be hard for him to turn down the big payday that would come along with facing one of the Paul brothers in an exhibition bout.

Following his controversial loss to undefeated WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, Francis Ngannou was officially listed as part of the WBC boxing rankings on Wednesday.

According to ESPN, Ngannou is ranked 10th among heavyweights, which is no small feat given that the Fury fight was his boxing debut.

Ngannou, who is an MMA star and a former UFC heavyweight champion, lost the Oct. 28 bout by split decision, as one judge scored it 95-94 in his favor, while the others scored it 95-94 and 96-93 for Fury.

During the 10-round, non-title fight against Fury in Saudi Arabia, Ngannou far exceeded expectations and even knocked Fury down once, but the 35-year-old Brit eventually settled in and did just enough to edge out Ngannou.

Then 37-year-old from Cameroon is 17-3 with 12 knockouts in his MMA career, and he won each of his final six UFC fights, including victories over Cain Velasquez, Stipe Miocic and Ciryl Gane.

Following the win over Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022, Ngannou and UFC were unable to come to terms on a new contract, so Ngannou vacated the heavyweight title, left the promotion and signed with PFL.

Before competing in his first fight for PFL, Ngannou agreed to a boxing match against Fury and took on legendary heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson as a mentor and trainer.

The preparation from Tyson clearly served Ngannou well, as he came agonizingly close to pulling off what would have been one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.

Given how well he performed in his boxing debut, Ngannou told ESPN's Brett Okamoto that he wants his next fight to be in the boxing ring as well.

Ngannou left the door open to go back to MMA afterward, but he stressed the importance of building on what he was able to do in his first boxing match.

As for Fury, he is scheduled to fight WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in a unification bout in February.

If the 34-0-1 Fury wins that fight, it could potentially set the stage for a rematch against Ngannou with the titles on the line.