LAS VEGAS – Ray Sefo was impressed with how Francis Ngannou handled himself in his boxing debut against Tyson Fury, but the former UFC heavyweight champion’s near victory in the ring could lead to changes in plans for his PFL debut.
Prior to facing Fury, Ngannou was expected to make his PFL debut in Q1 of 2024. However, Ngannou’s success in the ring has given PFL president Sefo and other execs in the promotion pause about Ngannou’s return to MMA, considering the rise in talks of a potential rematch with Fury, or other matchups against top heavyweight boxers like Deontay Wilder or Anthony Joshua.
“That’s something we got to talk to the team more about,” Sefo told reporters during a media scrum at Xtreme Couture.” I know, and obviously with Francis as well, I know he’s going to want to take a little bit of time off. At the moment he’s scheduled to compete in February, but right now, I think it’s one of those things where we just got to sit down with the team, and of course with Francis, and figure that out and see where we go from here.”
