After his match on March 8, against Anthony Joshua, Francis Ngannou will return to mixed martial arts.
According to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), Ngannou will take on the victor of Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader’s heavyweight superfight to mark his PFL debut. Ngannou(17-3-0) signed with the PFL in May, a few months before losing to Fury on a split decision following ten hard rounds in his debut boxing match.
Ngannou, 37, from Cameroon knocked Fury out in the third round of their fight, and he is currently training in Saudi Arabia in preparation for his upcoming matchup with two-time unified champion Joshua.
This Saturday at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Ferreira and Bader will square off in the PFL vs. Bellator World Championship event. This is the same venue that will host Ngannou’s matchup with Joshua on. Ngannou is scheduled to attend the bout between Ferreira and Bader, and he may square off against the victor in the SmartCage.
“The PFL is excited to announce Francis Ngannou’s return to MMA in the PFL pay-per-view division will be against the winner of the PFL Champion vs Bellator Champion heavyweight superfight between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader,” said the PFL CEO, Peter Murray in media reports.
“Francis is a true combat sports icon with a global fan base and appeal. We, along with the rest of the MMA world, will be watching to see who his first opponent will be, Ferreira or Bader,” he added.
This Saturday is the promotion’s inaugural event since acquiring Bellator in November, and Bader makes his PFL debut against Ferreira. Ngannou acknowledged that he has been watching Ferreira closely and that he is more interested in that bout than in facing Bellator champion Bader.
“I think out of those two, Renan Ferreira is the upcoming thing in the heavyweight division. I’ve been saying that for a year now. Even before the beginning of the PFL season, I knew this guy had something but I saw some clips of him. He has something quite special as far as speed and accuracy go. I can tell that he is somebody who is going to propose a lot of challenges in the future,” said Ngannou in media reports.
