Francis Ngannou – Where Now After Big KO?
Francis Ngannou made easy work of his PFL heavyweight title clash against Renan Ferreira, knocking the big Brazilian out in the first round.
It wasn’t dominant – it was a demolition.
Taking his opponent to the ground, Ngannou landed a barrage of huge punches, forcing the referee to bring the contest to an end. In fact, the ref could have stopped the fight a few seconds earlier. When Ngannou had Ferreira pinned, it was all over at that point. There was no chance of him getting out.
With such a destructive finish, it begs the question: what’s next for Ngannou?
Boxing Unlikely Next Step for Ngannou
Having gone the distance (and many argued unluckily lost) against an undercooked Tyson Fury, Francis Ngannou went on to face Anthony Joshua.
A devastating knockout from Joshua showed that whilst Francis Ngannou is a great fighter, he’s not a great boxer. Whilst he’s made no secret of his desire to be a boxer, it’s probably too late in the game for a full time career switch. His punching power makes him dangerous – there’s always a puncher’s chance, but he falls short technically.
He’d likely be an exciting fighter to watch, but I can’t see him troubling for world titles any time soon.
His foray into boxing wasn’t a disaster though – he made life-changing money in his two fights, and that has given him plenty of options.
Talent Pool Not Deep Enough in PFL for Ngannou
Having made short work of the title holder, the question is how deep is the talent pool in the PFL? Is there a sufficient challenge for a proven star like Francis Ngannou?
The PFL will be delighted to have him on their roster – he’s one of the biggest names in the sport. The question is whether or not he’s going to stick around? Rumour has it he made $10 million for his fight on Saturday, so the money is great, but the challenge just isn’t there right now – the PFL will need to arrange some big fights to keep their star man.
The reality is his fight against Ferreira highlighted the gulf in class between him and the rest of the pack. There’s nobody, and I mean nobody, within touching distance of Ngannou on the PFL roster. There’s no challenge there for him.
The PFL probably already knows that, which is probably why he’s only on a two fight contract and free to pursue other opportunities. They’d never be able to tie him down without the promise of a challenge or two.
UFC Bridges Burned
Whilst many are looking for Francis Ngannou to return to the UFC to fight for the heavyweight title, it seems unlikely at this point.
The pair had a high profile divorce over money and freedom, and there’s little chance of that changing now.
Francis Ngannou certainly doesn’t need the money any more, so he might be tempted to return simply for the belts. If he did to that it’d represent a big crawl down from the French-Cameroonian. It also puts the UFC in a power position financially, because it will show other fighters who leave to chase the money that they end up crawling their way back because it’s the only game in town.
The UFC is still the glory game in MMA, so they hold a lot of the cards.
Watch This Space
It’ll be interesting to see what happens next. Francis Ngannou has a two-fight contract with the PFL, so is obligated to fight again in their events. After that, who knows?
