Francis Ngannou to have two boxing matches this year, likely no MMA

Former UFC heavyweight champion turned ranked WBC professional boxer Francis Ngannou plans to fight two boxing matches this year and will likely not compete in mixed martial arts.  

Ngannou officially left the UFC one year ago after failing to come to terms during contract negotiations.  After leaving the fight promotion, Ngannou inked a deal to box lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury last October.  After knocking Fury down early in the bout, Ngannou lost via split decision.  

Last week, it was announced that Ngannou had signed a fight contract to face former two-time lineal heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in March.  Regardless of the outcome, Ngannou expects to face Fury in a rematch this fall.  

“There’s always been talk about that (a Fury rematch).  Always.  Even after the fight, the minister stepped inside the octagon (ring) and said, ‘Get ready for the rematch.’

“It’s going to happen,” Ngannou told The MMA Hour.  “There’s Fury and [Oleksandr] Usyk and then we spoke about it.  There’s Fury and Usyk going on.  This was like an opportunity.  I was waiting for Fury, but this was an opportunity that I was happy to take.  And at the end of the day, this won’t take anything away from the Fury rematch.”  

“Our rematch term was in one year, within one year, which is going to be October this year,” Ngannou explained.  

While he plans to box twice this year, Ngannou is under contract with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) for his MMA career.  He was signed last May but has yet to compete.

“When I received a call and an offer and proposal for this fight, what happened is I reached out to the PFL to tell them because we are in the business together.  They gave me the blessing for the opportunity,” said Ngannou.  

As far as fighting in MMA this year, Ngannou said, “As I said, even before this fight, nothing was certain yet,” and there’s ‘a chance’ he will only box in 2024.