FRANCIS NGANNOU is set to hold talks over his next fight – having called out Deontay Wilder.
Ngannou returned to the cage in October 2024 – beating Brazilian Renan Ferreira in one round in Saudi Arabia.
Francis Ngannou has called out Deontay Wilder[/caption]
It followed after two years out of the cage when Ngannou left the UFC to pursue a move to boxing.
He dropped Tyson Fury in his October 2023 debut – only to lose a controversial decision – before being knocked out by Anthony Joshua five months later.
Ngannou was signed to the Professional Fighters League – who green lit his switch to boxing after walking out on the UFC.
And after making his return against Ferreira – new PFL CEO John Martin is plotting talks with the Cameroonian this week in Dubai.
Martin revealed: “Francis is here in Dubai and I’m gonna be meeting with him and we’ll be talking about what’s next for him, what’s best for him.”
Ngannou, 38, has been linked with another huge fight against former heavyweight boxing champion Wilder, 39, after calling out the American.
And Martin – who formerly worked for media giants Time Warner – is ready to explore the PFL co-promoting the bout.
He said: “Possibly I mean, I don’t know enough from the history of the PFL relationship and allowing him to do what he did in boxing.
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“So I’d have to get a little bit more up to speed on that.That would be a really exciting fight.
“I think that’d be a fight that fans would really want to see.”
Wilder was close to signing with the PFL amid talks for a never-before-seen mixed-rules bout in the MMA cage.
But he signed with Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshkih – losing to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang – blowing his chances of facing Joshua.
Wilder did return with victory over little-known Tyrrell Herndon in June and is ready more a step up in his next bout.
Ngannou meanwhile is searching for his next opponent in MMA – with Martin teasing names already signed with the PFL.
He said: “We’ve got some really good fighters in the PFL. We have Vadim Nemkov fighting in December against Ferreira.
“They’re all great fighters. I don’t think we have to outsource fighters to fight Francis. We just need to sit down and find out.
“Match-making is sitting down and finding out what everyone wants to do and seeing if it can work.”
Wilder has also called out Ngannou in the past[/caption]
