PFL chairman Donn Davis expects Francis Ngannou to return to boxing, still fight MMA in 2025

PFL chairman Donn Davis believes Francis Ngannou is going to return to the SmartCage in 2025.

In 2023, Ngannou made headlines when he left the UFC as heavyweight champion to sign a lucrative contract with PFL. However, “The Predator” did not compete for his new promotion for over a year, instead trying his hand at a pair of big boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Ngannou finally made his PFL debut back in October, knocking out Renan Ferreira at PFL Battle of the Giants.

The question then became, would Ngannou return to the cage for his next fight or once again pursue the sweet science? But Davis believes it’s not an either/or scenario; instead, he thinks both things happen this year.

“He is still under the same contract with us,” Davis said during a Town Hall with MMA Fighting. “We’re happy, he’s happy. No. 2, we work very partner-like with Francis. We plan, ‘What does he want to do? Why does he want to do that? What are the full options?’ We sit down with him like you would any real partner.

“I think he’ll box once, and I think he’ll MMA once. What’s the order? Don’t know yet. What’s the timing? Don’t know yet.”

Ngannou had mixed success in the boxing ring. His first bout was against then-undefeated heavyweight king Tyson Fury, with Ngannou losing a split decision in a surprisingly competitive matchup where Ngannou even knocked down “The Gypsy King.”

That success led to a fight with former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who summarily destroyed Ngannou, knocking him out in the second round.

Nevertheless, Ngannou took home huge paydays for both bouts and, according to Davis, still has some lucrative opportunities in boxing, so he expects Ngannou’s next fight in the PFL to come after a return to the ring.

“If I had to guess, I would think boxing will be first, given the opportunities he has,” Davis said. “I don’t want to say anything about that. That’s his business for him to announce, but he has unbelievable boxing opportunities.

“So I think that’s more likely to come first and MMA is likely to come second. But what I believe you’ll see from Francis this year is one MMA in PFL and one boxing from Francis. So I think fans of Francis will see him do one of each this year.”