Francis Ngannou Confirms Discussions for Potential MMA Bout vs. Deontay Wilder

Options abound for Francis Ngannou following his near miss against Tyson Fury over the weekend.

During a Monday appearance on "The MMA Hour," Ngannou discussed some of the possibilities that he could pursue after falling to Fury via split decision this past Saturday in Saudia Arabia. Perhaps the most intriguing of those is a mixed martial arts bout against boxing heavyweight Deontay Wilder, a former WBC champion who went 0-2-1 against Fury. The former UFC champion confirmed that there have been talks regarding such a fight against Wilder.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Ngannou said. “In fact, we have spoken about that. That has been in the discussions. So that’s something that can potentially happen. Nothing is set, but it’s been something been coming to my attention, so that’s something that makes sense. He’s really serious about MMA. …

“It’s going to be a different beast for him. Unlike this time that I was the one experiencing the mountain, climbing the mountain. He’s going to be the one climbing the mountain because we watched this, we all watched the fight last Saturday.”

Ngannou has stated that he still plans to compete in MMA, and his Professional Fighters League debut is still expected to come next year. In a separate interview on “The MMA Hour,” PFL founder Donn Davis said that could be as early as March or as late as December.

“We always slated for him to have one MMA fight in 2024,” Davis said. “We had contengencies — March (or) December. So will he fight next year? Yes. Which fight will it be? I don’t know. We’ll partner with Francis and let that be his call.”

Davis added that a mixed-rules fight — with the rule set to be determined — pitting Ngannou against Wilder is something that PFL would like to pursue.

“What do I think would be fascinating? Deontay Wilder in a mixed rules right,” Davis said. “I think that’s the most interesting thing we could all see … This will all come down to availability, money, details — but I think those can come together.”