Francis Ngannou admits to looking past Tyson Fury, gives timeline for PFL debut

On October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Francis Ngannou will make his professional debut in the sport of boxing. In a bout dubbed “Battle of the Baddest”, the former UFC star will collide with the undefeated powerhouse Tyson Fury as he continues to build on his legacy in combat sports.

Although this matchup is his most difficult to date and sees him enter the competition as a huge underdog, ‘The Predator’ has sensationally admitted that he’s looking past his opponent.

While making an appearance on The MMA Hour, Francis Ngannou insisted that his life won’t stop after his clash on Saturday and believes that both he and Fury are looking past one another. 

“I’m looking past him too.” Boldly stated Ngannou when asked if he believes Tyson Fury is looking past him. “Do you think my life is going to stop after this? No. Do you think my career is going to end after this fight? No. I have a future after this fight. I’m looking on stuff, you know? No later than last week, I was on the phone with Peter Murray talking about PFL stuff.”

“So yes, he has a right to look past me. We are not going to war that we are going to die, we are just going to fight and we’re going to be back and continue with our lives [afterward].”

Despite the magnitude of the fight, it seems both men have their eyes on what’s next. Tyson Fury is likely looking ahead to his confirmed brawl against Oleksandr Usyk and Francis Ngannou potentially has his mind on his PFL debut.

Related: Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk set for late 2023 or early 2024

When will Francis Ngannou make his first appearance for the PFL?

Though he has a behemoth task in front of him and promotion for the bout is starting to heat up, Ngannou still has his PFL career to focus on if he wants to impress in his new promotion.

While there are no official names lined up to face him inside the SmartCage first, the Cameroonian has given a timeline for when he expects to make his long-awaited debut for the Professional Fighters League.

During a recent interview, Francis Ngannou revealed that, while no exact date can be pinpointed, he will be returning to mixed martial arts anywhere between February and March.

“I’m going to fight in the PFL early next year. We haven’t announced that yet but I am going to fight, there is a fight going on… The [time]frame is set, yes. It has always been between February and March… We haven’t gone far enough to talk about it yet [who I will be fighting in my PFL debut] but we are working on some options.”