Francis Ngannou looks set to have an opponent lined up for his return to MMA after over a year.
‘The Predator’ has not been in the cage since knocking out Renan Ferreira back in October 2024.
Since then, he has shown interest in another move to boxing, having already faced Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in the ring.
Ngannou is now expected to face the new PFL heavyweight titleholder at the start of next year.
Vadim Nemkov crowned PFL heavyweight champion
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Vadim Nemkov appears to be the frontrunner to be Ngannou’s next opponent.
On Saturday night, the former Bellator light heavyweight champion became a two-weight titleholder when he claimed the PFL heavyweight world championship with a first-round submission victory.
The win came in only 28 seconds longer than it took Ngannou to finish Renan Ferreira, who lost the belt in Lyon, France.
Afterwards, Nemkov expressed his desire to defend his new championship against ‘The Predator’.
“I’ll fight anybody that the company wants me to. But I really wanna fight Francis,” he stated.
PFL have plans for Francis Ngannou in 2026
PFL CEO John Martin recently hinted at ‘something very special’ being planned for Ngannou in 2026.
He said to MMA Fighting: “I’ve spoken to Francis a number of times.
“He knows we’re working on something very special for him.
“I’d like to see what happens in the fight this week and see if (Vadim) Nemkov wins, if that makes sense.
“But Francis knows that we’re looking forward to him fighting in 2026, relatively soon hopefully, and we’re trying to put something together that’s very special for him.
“He’s got one more fight under his contract, and we’ll see what happens after that…
“I know he’s explored some (options) on the boxing front, too. We’ve been in reasonably frequent communication with him and his manager, and his lawyer. I look forward to seeing Francis in the cage again.”