Francis Ngannou will make 'early' return after Anthony Joshua KO with MMA fight date and opponent already planned

21/03/2024 11:30

Francis Ngannou is set to make an ‘early’ return and will compete in MMA this summer after losing to Anthony Joshua.

Ngannou faced a tough night against AJ, being left out cold on the canvas in just two rounds of his second ever boxing appearance on March 8.

He is now taking time to recover and assessing his next move, but is still anticipating a boxing return despite being brutally stopped in his last fight.

Prior to making his impressive squared circle debut against Tyson Fury in October 2023, Ngannou signed with MMA promotion PFL having decided not to renew his contract with the UFC.

He sat cageside to watch potential rival Renan Ferreira defeat Ryan Bader in February as part of the Bellator v PFL card in the Middle East.

And PFL president Don Davis has confirmed the exact plans for his return, in which Ngannou is set to go toe-to-toe with ‘Problemo’ this summer.

He said on the MMA Hour: "I'm rooting for Francis all the time but now he's coming back early, will it be as early as July – maybe, will it be as late as September – no later.

“But you'll now see Francis in 2024 in the PFL against 'Lo Problemo' [Renan Ferreira] in what I believe is the fight that I'm looking forward to the most in the heavyweight divisions of all MMA.

"That will be a PPV fight, that card will also have Cris Cyborg vs Larissa Pacheco as the co-main fight, that card will also have Cedric Doumbe against someone who we will announce.

“So that fight [card] is going to be big, just because of Francis, but that fight will have other very compelling match-ups on it."

Ngannou reigned as UFC heavyweight champion and was dominant during his stint in the division.

He will hoping to replicate his success in the PFL smartcage, where Jon Jones will not be present to pose arguably the biggest challenge available.

Despite his PFL MMA debut looming, ‘The Predator’ is still intending to try his hand at boxing again.

Potential collisions with Deontay Wilder and Dillian Whyte could remain on the table, and the former has already proposed a two-fight deal.

Ngannou has lost his place in the top ten of the WBC heavyweight rankings, but has insisted he still has a place in the sport to make a comeback.

He said on a live stream: “Right now, I don”t know exactly what fight I”ll be looking for next. I know that I”m going to take some time to rest up, focus on myself, and then when I”m ready, I will get back to training.

“It's not over yet – not at all, We're just getting started. The only thing that we will miss this year is time, and I think we have some good amount of time ahead of us.

“Going to take some time for myself, chill, spend time with my family, my friends and then come back ready.”