Dan Hardy hopes Francis Ngannou completes his contract for PFL.
Ngannou (18-3), who hasn’t competed inside the cage since knocking out Renan Ferreira to capture the PFL Super Fights heavyweight championship in October 2024, has one fight remaining on his contract. The former UFC heavyweight champion’s win over Ferreira is the lone fight he’s had for PFL.
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Signing with PFL gave Ngannou the flexibility to box, something he wasn’t able to do with the UFC. “The Predator” landed two mega fights against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, but Hardy thinks he has unfinished business in MMA.
“I think we’ll see him,” Hardy told MMA Junkie of Ngannou. “I do think we’ll see him. I think Francis wants to fight. With the things that’s happening in his life recently, he’s had a real rough time with it, and I feel like the grounding force in his life right now would be getting back in the gym and getting back to training. I’d love to watch him go over into boxing. I could still watch him have a few boxing matches. I wouldn’t mind that. But another fight in MMA would be great.”
The obvious matchup for Ngannou would appear to be Vadim Nemkov, who captured the inaugural PFL heavyweight title with a submission of Ferreira this past December.
“Ngannou vs. Nemkov would be next level, wouldn’t it?” Hardy said. “I mean, you’ve got a Fedor (Emelianenko) student that’s an undersized heavyweight, but is just an absolute assassin, taking on Francis Ngannou, who really we still can’t quantify him as a force in mixed martial arts.
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“The Ford Escort traveling at such and such miles an hour, it’s all hyperbole isn’t it? The cube you punch on the thing and the numbers – it’s all hyperbole. Shake the guy’s hand, let him slap you on the shoulder and just feel the force that he can generate, the size that he is. I’ll be disappointed if we don’t see him again because he’s such a special individual and if we can get him in there against Nemkov, that’s the fight to make.”
To hear more from Hardy, check out his complete appearance on “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dan Hardy disappointed if Francis Ngannou doesn’t make PFL return
