Ngannou: focused on boxing
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou says he “made peace” with his split from the promotion earlier this year, and is currently focused on scheduling his professional boxing debut in 2023.
Ngannou, 36, was essentially stripped of the UFC heavyweight title in January, when the company announced it had not reached an agreement with Ngannou on a new contract and would move up in the division with a fight for the vacant title between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane. Jones defeated Gane by first-round submission last Saturday at UFC 285 to become the undisputed champion.
“For three years I tried to fight Jon Jones,” Ngannou said. “I did everything I could to get that fight. I wanted that fight, but not at any price.
“There’s not a fight on earth that would make me back down. I would go there and whatever happens. That’s the way the sport is. But Jon Jones is not the guy. He may be the greatest fighter of all time, but no, he’s not the guy I’m running from. No. He’s not the guy. I would fight Jon Jones twice a month.”
Ngannou hasn’t fought since defending his UFC title against Gane by unanimous decision in January 2022. He suffered a knee injury prior to that fight and spent the rest of 2022 undergoing and recovering from surgery. He is still in the process of rehabbing his knee, but says he is healthy enough to accept a fight at any time in the future.
According to Ngannou, he is already in talks to make his professional boxing debut. Although he has no boxing experience, he hopes to jump right into a big event against a featured opponent. He has expressed interest in Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.
“My next step has to be boxing,” Ngannou said. “I want to do a boxing match first, and then maybe go back to MMA because I still enjoy MMA. I want to do a couple of boxing matches. We’re working on some things and hopefully in a month or two I can make an announcement about possible fight dates and locations. It’s taking a little longer than I expected, but it will come. Great things come with time.
“I’m considering everybody [as an opponent]. I talked to [promoter] Eddie Hearn about Anthony Joshua, I don’t know what’s going to happen. The most we’ve talked is with Deontay Wilder’s team. We’ve had some exchanges, basically we’ve come to some kind of verbal agreement.”
As for his future in MMA, Ngannou said he is keeping his options open. He confirmed that he has spoken with PFL, ONE Championship and, to a lesser extent, Bellator MMA.
Originally from Cameroon, Ngannou stated that one of his personal goals is to compete in boxing or MMA in Africa. He recalled that next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the Rumble in the Jungle fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo).
“I’ve always wanted to hold an event in Africa,” Ngannou stated. “To fight at home, but also to give my people a show, a chance to see all those great events and give a gift to the kids to believe in this sport and let them know that anything is possible. I’m still working to bring something to Africa and I will do it. That’s my personal mission.
