PFL Chairman Donn Davis believes that Francis Ngannou would fight the winner of the Ryan Bader vs. Renan Ferreira bout, which is set to happen at the PFL vs. Bellator Champs next weekend.
Ngannou’s focus remains on boxing, especially after getting booked against Anthony Joshua on March 8 in Riyadh. Nonetheless, PFL is certain that the former UFC fighter will come back to his MMA career. Ferreira and Bader also believe this will happen and earlier expressed hope that the winner in their bout will face “The Predator” soon. Davis supports the idea. Although he doesn’t have the final say about this, the executive has high hopes that Ngannou will entertain the fight.
“I believe the winner of ‘La Problema’ and Bader will interest Francis Ngannou,” Davis told The Independent. “I think whoever comes out of this [victorious] has proven themselves to truly be the No. 1 contender in heavyweight MMA — not just in our organization.
“Bader has ruled the roost in Bellator for five years; ‘La Problema’ is the toughest, most athletic opponent in the world. I don’t know who’s gonna win that, but I think whoever wins that can lay claim to challenge Francis — and I’m interested to see if Francis accepts that.”
The exact timeline of when Ngannou will be back in the MMA track remains unknown, especially with Tyson Fury promising a rematch between them. Nonetheless, Davis is sure that the fighter will continue his work in both fields.
“I’m 100 percent confident that Francis fights MMA for PFL — not just once, but several times,” Davis said. “I’m confident that Francis will be our long-term business partner. I believe that he will ultimately prove himself to be the greatest athlete in combat sports — the Bo Jackson, if you will, of combat sports.
“I think Francis has an appetite to be a champion in boxing and to remain a champion in MMA. That’s so audacious that only someone of Francis’s character can set that goal, so I think you will see him continue to do both and continue to be successful at both.”
