Jake Paul is worried for Francis Ngannou ahead of his PFL debut.
The former UFC heavyweight champion hasn’t fought in MMA since outpointing Ciryl Gane over five rounds at UFC 270 in January 2022.
Since then, he’s made millions in boxing bouts with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, who brutally knocked him out when they fought in Saudi Arabia in March.
Ngannou will return to MMA when he takes on Renan Ferreira in the PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants main event on Saturday.
Jake Paul worried after watching video of Renen Ferreira’s latest KO
Jake Paul is signed to fight for PFL and the promotion’s CEO, Peter Murray, recently told BloodyElbow that ‘The Problem Child’ will make his debut in 2025.
In the meantime, he’s helping the UFC’s biggest rival to promote their events, and as part of that role, he recently sat down to discuss Ngannou vs Ferreira.
Paul was shown a clip of Ferreira’s win over Ryan Bader, who he knocked out in 21 seconds before celebrating by doing a backflip earlier this year.
“No way,” he said after watching the giant Brazilian go airborne.
Paul added: “He’s this athletic? Oh, that’s a scary man.
“I didn’t know he could hit a gainer like that. A heavyweight hitting a gainer, he’s built different. Honestly, after seeing that, I’m a little bit more scared for Francis.
“I never realized that he had that much athleticism.”
Francis Ngannou’s coach believes MMA star is being underpromoted
Fight fans around the world are excited to see Ngannou return to his first sport, but his head coach has been disappointed with how ‘The Predator’ is being marketed.
Ngannou is the lineal UFC heavyweight champion because he never lost his belt in the ring, and coach Eric Nicksick thinks the world should know that.
They don’t. So, now the Xtreme Couture trainer believes PFL is to blame.
“I literally forgot we’re fighting for a title,” Nicksick told MMAFighting.
“But it’s like, ‘Oh we get another title fight,’ you know? You think of a five-rounder or whatever else, it’s like that’s how much it hasn’t been promoted.
“We know it’s a title fight in the back of my mind. I want to hear that more rather than like, ‘these two giants fighting.’
“This is for the PFL title, you know. I don’t know, man, I just wish it was promoted a little bit better.”