PFL founder Donn Davis would fully support Francis Ngannou moving forward with another boxing contest.
Ngannou, who made his professional boxing debut last Saturday in Saudi Arabia, is riding high after going the full distance with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
In a fight that many had expected to become a full-blown mismatch, the MMA veteran would drop Fury in the third round and fought him on even terms the rest of the way.
In the end, Fury won a razor-close ten round split decision – with scores of 95-94, 96-93 in his favor, and the third judge scoring 95-94 for Ngannou.
After parting ways with the UFC, Ngannou signed a promotional agreement with PFL earlier this year. He is expected to make his PFL debut in 2024.
But now with his unexpected performance against Fury, there could be many opportunities for Ngannou in boxing – which likely bring much bigger paydays.
Former WBC world champion Deontay Wilder is now very interested in facing Ngannou.
Dann would embrace the scenario of Ngannou facing Wilder under a mixed rules contest.
“I think it would be fantastic, because I think he already proved against Tyson Fury what he has to prove for now. I think he’ll get back to that, but what would I think would be fascinating? Deontay Wilder in a mixed rules fight. I always say, what do I want to see? I know a lot about boxing and a lot about MMA, but I’m not a savant. I’m not a deep, deep, deep insider. So I like to test, what do I think millions of people would love to see? I think that’s the most interesting thing we could all see,” Davis told The MMA Hour.
“I think Francis does Deontay Wilder, and I think it is a wild fight. Because what you know and what I know, is who Francis is. But now the rest of the world knows what he is, and he is a global superstar. And everyone is going to see that and not miss it. No one is going to sleep on him this time.”
Davis admits that Ngannou’s options for big name MMA opponents are very limited.
The biggest fight for Ngannou, as far as MMA, is UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones. That scenario is extremely unlikely, because Jones is under a long-term contract with the UFC – and he recently suffered an injury that will keep him out of the cage for some time.
“I think the opponents in pure MMA are not that interesting right now. We’re just like the fans, we’re just like the fighters. We’re not like the other companies. ‘Let’s just do it because they’re our guys!’ There’s only one guy in MMA who is interesting right now for Francis Ngannou: Jon Jones. One guy. Everybody says, what about Stipe? Maybe. Give him a half a point — 1.5 guys, who are compelling,” Davis said.
“I don’t want to say who could put on a good fight for him. There are three or four other guys who could put on a competitive fight for Francis. I’m not talking about a competitive fight, I’m saying compelling — 1.5 guys in MMA, in the world! And one is hurt for the next nine months, and the other one is under contract.”