MMA Heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is ready to move from the octagon to the ring against Deontay Wilder.
Francis Zavier Ngannou is a Cameroonian-French professional mixed martial artist and a most interesting man. He’s fluent in three languages (Ngemba, French, and English). He’s been competing in the Heavyweight division in the UFC, where he was the reigning Heavyweight Champion. But after failing to reach agreement on a new deal with the UFC, he decided to leave the organization.
Ngannou will now take his talents to the boxing ring where his first opponent will be a man who has fought at a world class level for years, Deontay Wilder.
No Experience Required
Keep in mind Ngannou has never competed in pro boxing. However the 36-year-old initially began training as a boxer before converting to Mixed Martial Arts at the MMA factory in Paris.
Among his MMA highlights, At UFC 260 in 2021, he KO’d Stipe Miocic in the second round to gain the heavyweight belt and after a long stint which saw mostly injuries and contract stuff, he made his return at UFC 270 in 2022 to beat the interim champion Ciryl Gane.
Wilder, who was declared himself a “free agent” tweeted that he’d like to sign a two-fight MMA/Boxing deal, to which Ngannou replied “I hope you are a man of your word,” “See you soon.” It’s believed the skills of Ngannou would serve him well in the boxing ring while Wilder would have a considerably harder time with the MMA disciplines. Wilder is widely regarded as the hardest puncher across all of boxing with 42 career knockouts. But Ngannou’s trainer, Marquel Martin (not exactly unbiased) says his fighter hits “way harder” than Wilder.
All The Rage
Crossover fights have become the thing in the past few years. It began in earnest when Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather met on August 26, 2017 in the “Money Fight”. Mayweather posted a 10th round TKO to improve his record to 50-0. The bout drew 4.3 million Pay-Per-View buys in North America, the second most in combat sports history behind only Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.
Other MMA fighters have found mixed results. Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley and Frank Mir lost. But Anderson Silva did just fine against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Since no contracts have been signed and no timetable has been offered up, this can be filed under “just talk”.
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