Francis Ngannou is continuing to wait for a fight to arise that interests him, and that’s not happening in MMA or boxing.
Ngannou was recently offered a replacement spot to box Jake Paul in December after
Paul’s original opponent Gervonta Davis was pulled from their big November Netflix show. But according to “The Predator,” that fight made no sense. So the wait continues.
As for the PFL, where he won the Super Fights Heavyweight Championship (whatever that is) back in October 2024?
“I’m waiting for the PFL these days,” Ngannou told TMZ Sports. “I think by November, they will tell me exactly where we are at. But so far nothing. Basically, no on MMA. Even though I’m in fighting shape.”
Big Fran was asked about a potential Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira fight and admitted it was an exciting possibility…. but not the most exciting possibility.
“Every fight is interesting. At which level?” he asked. “This interest me for sure, but not that exciting for me. Yeah, if they are fighting, I’m definitely gonna turn on my clock to to watch that fight. But it’s not like, ‘Wow, this is the fight.’”
Asked if Jones vs. Pereira was a bigger fight than Jones vs. Ngannou, Francis laughed.
“You know the answer. You don’t need me for that,” he said.
“Biggest fight of all time can only happen with Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou,” he added. “That’s all I can say about that. No disrespect for other fights or for other fighters. I respect all the fights and all the fighters, regardless of if they fight the main card or prelim or whatever or wherever.”
“I think great fights still happen everywhere. I became a world champion in the Apex with no crowd, so I respect a fight as long as it’s a fight. People putting in [effort], you know, it’s not about the place. But if you wanna see the biggest of all time, you make it biggest.”
We can’t see that happening. Ngannou left the UFC on bad terms in January 2023 and since then UFC CEO Dana White has repeatedly said he has no interest in working with “The Predator” in the future. He barely seems to have any interest in working with Jon Jones, although that at least seems like an attitude that could change in the next six months.
So Ngannou has to hope the PFL pulls a worthy contender out of their hat, or that another big money offer comes his way in boxing. With Franny being picky, it could be another several months before he steps back into the cage or ring, which is a real shame.
