Francis Ngannou warned lack of MMA training could cost him in PFL debut

22 February 2024 , 12:41

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Francis Ngannou warned lack of MMA training could cost him in PFL debut

Francis Ngannou has been warned that a lack of MMA training ahead of his PFL debut could come back to haunt him.

Former UFC champion Ngannou is preparing for his second professional boxing fight in just over two weeks against Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia. Ngannou dropped heavyweight champion Tyson Fury before losing a controversial split decision and he wants to ruin Joshua's plans of fighting for the undisputed world titles by picking up his first win in the ring.

MMA champions Ryan Bader and Renan Ferreira will fight this Saturday at the PFL vs Bellator Championship event for the chance to potentially serve as the opponent for Francis Ngannou's MMA return. Bader, once a standout wrestler in college, thinks he is a harder match-up for Ngannou than Brazilian striker Ferreira.

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"I think I am definitely more well-rounded for sure, Ferreira is big and has good striking but I think he lacks the ground game. Once he gets put on his back he doesn't get up, maybe Ngannou is looking at that fight as a stand-up slugfest that he can go in there and win. It would be a fun fight for the fans to see a knockout but I bring a different style," Bader told Mirror Fighting.

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"Fighting a guy like Francis, it's no secret that you're going to want to go in there to grind him out and punish him on the ground. I think with Ngannou training for these boxing fights, I would be training exclusively in boxing and not worrying about my ground game. While he's doing that, I'm in the gym grinding away on my ground game and everything else."

Ngannou's debut PFL opponent has been guaranteed a minimum of $2million, but Bader said of the potential fight purse: "That's the minimum and if I go out there and win this fight, I'd be regarded as a PFL champion even though the belt is not on the line. I'm not going in there against Francis asking for the minimum, so it's definitely a good payday.

"It's one of those deals where I have over 40 fights and it's one of those deals that you look forward to. I don't come into the fight with a lack of confidence, I think he's beatable. I think I can grind out a decision but it's an MMA fight so you never know, I could go in there and knock him out."

Harry Davies