Despite impressive performance against Tyson Fury in his boxing debut, Francis Ngannou‘s limited options in MMA have led him to consider returning to boxing, as the UFC is unlikely to prioritize his future fights and the potential matchup with Jon Jones is off the table.
Francis Ngannou’s surprising performance against Tyson Fury limited his options for returning to MMA, according to UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier. Ngannou’s camp had called for a showdown with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones but Cormier believes that will never happen. The UFC won’t stop moving forward just because Ngannou is gone, and Cormier believes Ngannou’s immediate future will take him back to boxing rather than MMA.
Cormier acknowledges that there aren’t many good options available to Ngannou in MMA. Despite the calls from Ngannou’s camp for a showdown with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, Cormier knows that’s never going to happen. The UFC CEO Dana White was stunned to learn that Ngannou managed to go all 10 rounds with Fury, but he’s not going to bend over backwards just for the chance to get a piece of his next fight. The UFC won’t stop moving forward just because Ngannou is gone.
With most top-ranked heavyweights already on the UFC roster, Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader is probably the biggest name available. Hoping to see Bader and Ngannou fight, Cormier said, “Honestly, Ryan would not fight Francis right.” He believes that Ngannou’s immediate future will take him back in boxing rather than MMA. The good news for Ngannou is that he took home a sizable payday for his fight against Fury, which means he can take his time deciding what comes next. Perhaps Ngannou just sits on his stacks of cash and waits for something more attractive to come along.