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Francis Ngannou has the full support of the PFL, no matter what he chooses to do.
Ngannou stunned the world on Saturday when he faced Tyson Fury in a 10-round boxing match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and knocked down the heavyweight champion in the third round. Ngannou lost a close split decision, but he gained a lot of respect for his performance, and he opened the door for more boxing superfights.
Some may think that Ngannou’s MMA promoters would be unhappy with his return to boxing, but PFL founder Donn Davis says his promotion is behind Ngannou all the way.
“We wanted the best thing for Francis Ngannou from the start, and that’s why we got our deal done in two days,” Davis said on The MMA Hour. “In business, when you do right by your partners, it usually works out well for you.
Like Jerry MacGuire said, ‘Help me help you.’ Sometimes, your partner is a bad partner and it’s bad for you. But in my 35 years, most of the time, if you’re a good partner, the partner is good to you. We wanted the best for Francis, we support him, and we think it will be good for the PFL too.”
Ngannou has many options for his next boxing opponent, such as a rematch with Fury or a superfight with Anthony Joshua. But one name that seems to be getting more attention is Deontay Wilder. Ngannou said on The MMA Hour that Wilder has been training MMA for a while now, and Wilder has also expressed interest in cage-fighting. Davis would prefer to see them fight in the smart cage under mixed rules.
“I think that would be amazing, because Ngannou already showed what he can do against Fury,” Davis said of Ngannou fighting Wilder. “I think he’ll do it again. … But what would be really intriguing? Deontay Wilder in a mixed rules fight. I always ask myself, what do I want to see? I know a lot about boxing and MMA, but I’m not an expert. I like to check, what do I think millions of people would enjoy? I think that’s the most appealing thing we could see.”
Davis didn’t give any details, but he said that Wilder is open to the idea, and that the fight will depend on “availability, money, and details.” Davis thinks that they can make it happen though and so, his prediction for Ngannou’s next move is this fight.