Francis Ngannou has had a call-up for an African vs. African clash for his next potential MMA fight. Adding to the stately affair is his equity role in the Professional Fighters League (PFL). “Reug Reug” aka Oumar Kane, called out to his African counterpart after winning the recent heavyweight strap over Anatoly Malykhin at ONE 169.
Francis Ngannou made a big splash in his MMA return and PFL debut a short while back. He starched Renan Ferreira with his left ground-and-pounds (read fight highlights) at the PFL “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view. After the first-frame win, he is now the super fight titleholder, which needs defending. Enter “Reug Reug” to the fold who has an interesting superfight in mind.
@yodchatri The Boss, you were happy to make @francisngannou vs Anatoly happen
I beat the guy, so let’s make the biggest fight in African history
@francisngannou vs Reug Rueg / @pflmma vs @onechampionship“Reug Reug” aka Oumar Kane via IG (@reugreug)
Along with Helios Sports & Entertainment Group, Ngannou will chair the PFL Africa Regional League next year. This is in conjunction with PFL MENA and PFL Europe. “Reug Reug” is a Senegalese wrestler turned MMA fighter who has risen to the top as one of the few African champions in MMA. Now, he’s pushing ONE head honcho Chatri Sityodtong to set up a co-promotion between him and ‘Predator.’
Ngannou is in a pickle regarding MMA, as few legitimate heavyweight options exist. There has been talk of him fighting Glory kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven under special rules. The current PFL superfight champ can also go back to heavyweight pro boxing. Even Deontay Wilder is lacing up for a possible boxing match. Ngannou has thoughts about Verhoeven and has yet to respond to “Reug Reug.”
Francis Ngannou vs. Rico Verhoeven — New PFL Super champ eyed GLORY icon for crossover bout
Francis Ngannou is ready to add a GLORY kickboxing champion to his hit list for the year 2025. It’s not like Alex Pereira can enter the fold under UFC contractual obligations. UFC bossman Dana White still bills that Ngannou ran as he would be unable to money-hog bonuses and PPV points if he lost to Jon Jones. So, for now, Verhoeven it is.
The duo have crossed paths before, but only in atypical training settings. The French-Cameroonian went “frantic Franny” and enlisted the kickboxers’ help for his UFC 270 PPV title fight against Ciryl Gane. So his training brethren is not someone he’d count out of a matchup.
I have trained with him, …We’re not friends. I mean, we met once at the gym…Yeah we’re friends, but not to the extent that we cannot fight each other. We’re gym friends. Send me a deal.
Francis Ngannou on the-now ‘The Ariel Helwani Show’ (@ArielHelwani) live to Uncrowned and YouTube
Could we see Francis Ngannou vs. Rico Verhoeven? 👀#HelwaniShow pic.twitter.com/u9wjMgwWIX
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 21, 2024
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Ngannou, 38, returned to the win column by destroying bracket winner Ferreira atop the PFL: “Battle of the Giants“ pay-per-view (PPV) card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is the top MMA heavyweight matchup to make in whatever ruleset. Meanwhile, Verhoeven strung a 13-fight winning streak and five title defenses against the world’s best fighters.
Considerably one of the most acute strikers, this could be one of the matchups for ages. There are hiccups with Ngannou not being a kickboxer and “The King of Kickboxing” only having one MMA fight under his belt. Perhaps the only way to make it a fair fight is to stage the contest under boxing rules. It is something consequently both could dabble in.
