Francis Ngannou will be heading back to MMA following his fight against Anthony Joshua; Ngannou shocked the world when he faced Tyson Fury, knocking him down; Watch Joshua vs Ngannou on Sky Sports Box Office on March 8
Thursday 22 February 2024 23:07, UK
Francis Ngannou will be heading back to MMA after his bout with Anthony Joshua, which will be live on Sky Sports Box Office on March 8.
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced that Ngannou will make his PFL debut against the winner of the Heavyweight Superfight between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader.
Ngannou signed with the PFL in May, just a couple of months before his split decision loss to Fury after 10 tough rounds in his first boxing fight.
Fury was sent to the canvas by Ngannou in the third round of the bout and now, Ngannou is in Saudi Arabia again as he trains for his fight against two-time unified champion Joshua, which is live on Sky Sports Box Office.
"Francis is a true combat sports icon with a global fan base and appeal. We, along with the rest of the MMA world, will be watching to see who his first opponent will be, Ferreira or Bader," said Peter Murray, PFL CEO.
Claressa Shields, the boxing star who also competes in MMA, expects Joshua vs Ngannou to be a close fight. In fact, she thinks it will be so tight she is tipping it to be a split decision.
"I think it's going to be a good fight. At first I kind of felt that AJ was going to knock out Ngannou, that's how I saw the fight. Now it's kind of shifted on, I feel like it'll be a split decision going either guy's way," Shields told Sky Sports.
"I say that because it feels like AJ has a lot to prove and I feel like when he's got a lot to prove sometimes he puts too much pressure on himself and he doesn't fight his fight. And if he doesn't fight his fight against Francis, Francis is a big, strong and powerful guy too so it can be a closer fight.
"I believe that AJ has everything in the tank to beat Francis. He just has to do it."
Watch Joshua vs Ngannou live on Sky Sports Box Office on March 8.
