There’s been a lot of contract talk about Francis Ngannou recently, and PFL CEO John Martin is confident the former UFC heavyweight champion will return to his promotion’s cage soon.
Ngannou (18-3) recently said PFL needed to give him a fight soon due to the terms of his contract – something Martin indicated Thursday to MMA Junkie Radio is coming down the pipe.
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“Francis has one more fight on his contract and I’m looking forward to putting on a really, really special fight for him. So you’re going to see him fighting in 2026,” Ngannou said. “Then, we need to talk to Francis about what his future is after that. He’s 39 years old. I don’t know how long he wants to fight for. I don’t know if he has continued ambition in MMA or whether he wants to go back to boxing a little bit. He’s been an incredible ambassador for us in our venture for PFL Africa, where he’s developed to help develop the sport in the continent of Africa. He’s been hugely influential there. So we appreciate anything and everything Francis has done for us on that front. I’d like to be in business with him there for the considerable future. Look, it’s going to be about continuing to identify and build stars and do that in a way where we’re providing the athletes with tools and capabilities that we haven’t been able to do in the past, all in the spirit of just trying to delight fans.”
Ngannou departed the UFC in what was an ugly breakup and one that still results in vocalized bad blood between him and UFC CEO Dana White. Following a contract dispute, Ngannou departed the promotion, leaving the UFC heavyweight title vacant. He later joined PFL, which also allowed him to take boxing fights, in which he competed and lost against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Following the honeymoon phase and a quick promotional debut win vs. Renan Ferreira, Ngannou’s public relationship with the PFL seemed to weaken. He and promotion founder Donn Davis appeared to at least be somewhat at odds over Ngannou’s involvement or lack thereof. However, Martin assured that’s all water under the bridge now.
“I think Donn and Francis are fine now,” Martin said. “That dustup that occurred, that was immediately before I got here. Francis attended and sat next to me for a time at the Dubai event. I’ve spoken to him after that. I think everything is fine. I don’t even remember what happened or what the dustup was. This is the fight game. This stuff happens.”
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Ngannou, 39, has not competed in combat sports since that quick win over Ferreira. He recently indicated interest in a UFC return, but that was something White quickly shot down when asked.
So who? What? When? Where? Time will only tell…
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: PFL CEO: ‘Really, really special fight’ coming for Francis Ngannou
