We may not have seen the last of Francis Ngannou in the UFC.
Ngannou (18-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) left the organization under a cloud two years ago following a contract dispute, walking away from the UFC heavyweight title he had won and successfully defended.
Shortly afterward, he announced that he had signed with the PFL. However, he has competed in the PFL Smartcage only once, scoring a first-round stoppage win over Renan Ferreira in Saudi Arabia last October.
Since leaving the UFC, Ngannou has stepped into the world of professional boxing twice—losing to both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in a pair of highly lucrative bouts. He has also teased a possible third appearance inside the squared circle against Deontay Wilder.
Ngannou’s coach, Eric Nicksick, believes there is a possibility that the 38-year-old could make a surprise return to the Octagon.
“I know that he’s been kind of asking for that Wilder fight, and if that’s something that comes up, great,” Nicksick said this week during an interview with Home of Fight. “I just feel like the heavyweight division as a whole is kind of in shambles, and I think that if we can somehow, someway get this back together, there’s so many options for Francis. Not only in the UFC, but just around. I think that he can help bridge that gap that the UFC is lacking in its star power when it comes to the heavyweight division,
“I think enough time has passed. I would love to see somehow, someway that they can mend these fences and get back in competing in the UFC.”
Ngannou knocked out Stipe Miocic to become the UFC heavyweight champion in March 2021. He went on to defend the title by defeating Ciryl Gane in January 2022, before spending the following year embroiled in a highly publicized dispute with UFC President Dana White.
Since Ngannou’s departure, the two have continued to exchange verbal jabs, but Nicksick doesn’t see that as a potential stumbling block in negotiations for Ngannou’s return.
“100 percent,” Nicksick responded when asked if he believed Ngannou and White could possibly put their differences to one side. “I think this is more about business than it is about ego, at least it is from Francis’ side. He wants the opportunity to be paid for — It’s like being an independent contractor. You (want to be) paid the highest amount for whoever needs your services. He doesn’t want to be stuck in a position where he’s not allowed to go box or he’s not allowed to go do these things, but he went out and did these things and he competed and made a lot of money, proved that he could do it. So, now, where does his motivation come from?
“It’s not about money, it’s about competition, and the best competition is in the UFC.”
“I think Dana is a smart-enough businessman that it’s not about his ego, it’s about what’s best for his company, and I think that a guy like Dana is level-headed enough to say, like, ‘Look, the past is the past and we can get through those things if these things can work out for us in the future, why not?’” Nicksick said. “Why not explore those options?
“Look at the heavyweight division right now. What’s going on? You’ve got this poor guy in Tom Aspinall that’s been holding on to an interim belt for almost 600 days now. What are we doing here? I’m not saying Francis is the answer, but it at least adds some more value to your heavyweight division if you go out and get a guy like him and bring him back. Let bygones be bygones, everybody’s making money, everybody’s happy, but it gets things moving.”
