Over four months removed from his boxing bout against Anthony Joshua, Francis Ngannou has reflected on the disappointing night and given an update on when we can expect him to return to combat sports.
After seeing out his contract with the UFC, Francis Ngannou decided to sign with the PFL last year where he would become the face of the promotion, without having fought under their banner yet.
The promotion allowed the former UFC heavyweight champion to fulfill his dream of competing in the boxing ring, which he did so against Tyson Fury. After an incredibly impressive performance, despite the loss, he then booked to fight Anthony Joshua after being put in the rankings.
Francis Ngannou claims ‘something wasn’t right’ against Anthony Joshua
After such a competitive performance against ‘The Gypsy King’, hopes were high for ‘The Predator’ when he took on AJ.
Unfortunately, though, the fight barely began before the 37-year-old was rendered unconscious by the powerful Brit in round two. Since then, Ngannou has claimed that ‘something wasn’t right’ in the lead-up to his fight with Joshua.
“I got in the ring and wasn’t feeling myself and the first round when he knocked me down, I fell and I was like, did I slip, like, what exactly knocked me down?” Ngannou started on the Joe Rogan Experience.
“I remember exactly what happened until I got to the stool. I remember being there, I started having blurry vision. My team was in front of me speaking to me and their voices were getting distant.
“I don’t know if it was the fatigue (or what it was) but something wasn’t right. Something was wrong. Maybe it was the fact that I got there at that time (late). It wasn’t me,” Ngannou continued.
Despite the devastating knockout loss, ‘The Predator’ admitted in the weeks following that he would compete in boxing again and wasn’t deterred because of suffering the knockout.
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Francis Ngannou expects MMA return to happen in October
Since signing with the PFL, Ngannou has yet to enter the Smartcage, but he now has an idea when he’ll put an end to his two-year MMA hiatus.
In his absence, Rennan Ferreira went on to win the 2023 PFL heavyweight tournament, becoming the king of the division. Then, when PFL merged with Bellator, the Brazilian even put Ryan Bader, the Bellator heavyweight champion, to sleep.
And now, Ngannou is pretty convinced that his PFL debut will come against ‘Problema’, in October.
“I think Renan Ferreira is the guy. I’ve been telling people for almost two years. He’s very athletic. Fast hands, knees, very athletic. I think it’s going to be him. That’s what the PFL is working on. October sometime.
“They’re working on October. It’s not finalized but they were talking about October 19,” Ngannou revealed.
Fortunately for Ngannou, his current employers have been pretty lenient with their contractual timeline, as he was initially supposed to fight in the Smartcage within the first year of his signing. The 37-year-old has admitted that his next fight will be in MMA, but he does still want to return to the boxing ring.
“I will say MMA (is definitely) next. Because I was supposed to fight, it’s been a little over a year now since the PFL agreement, and I was supposed to have a fight within a year so now we’re getting a little out of that timeline,” the former UFC champion stated.
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