Francis Ngannou feels healthy and strong for his MMA return against Renan Ferreira at PFL: Battle of the Giants, but it appears his time in combat sports is ticking.
Ngannou (17-3) had already considered retirement once this year following the tragic death of his 15-month-old son Kobe. He ultimately decided to return to honor his child’s memory and competed in his first MMA fight in 991 days, against Ferreira (13- 3) (ESPN+, pay-per-view, DAZN).
Since officially parting ways with the UFC in January 2022, Ngannou has only competed in boxing. He fought Tyson Fury in October 2023, suffering a controversial split decision loss, and suffered a knockout loss to Anthony Joshua in March. Now that he’s back in the sport he made his name in, fight camp is almost complete and he’s feeling good, Ngannou said.
“My body is holding up well,” Ngannou told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “Of course I had knee surgery, but that was over two years ago. It took me over a year to really get back to normal. But I’m really strong now. By the time I got back to fighting, I I’m very strong. I can kick. I’m not good at kicking, but I can kick.”
Ngannou is focused on the job at hand, but admits this fight was the beginning of a break from his fighting career. He plans to do more MMA and boxing matches before hanging up the gloves, but said the schedule for hanging up the gloves is taking shape in his mind after he celebrates his 38th birthday on September 5th.
“I have a desire to get back to boxing,” Ngannou said. “Obviously, I still have a few games left left and right. I just turned 38, so I’ll retire when I’m about 41 or 42. It could be 40, but this… It’s an exceptional case. I think this time I’ll have to really enjoy my time inside the Octagon and in the ring and then do my last dance and go home.”
Ngannou understands that heavyweights tend to have longer professional fighting careers than lower weight classes. UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, who set up a home gym in Las Vegas, continued to compete into his 40s. There are several other high-profile examples, but Ngannou said he’s not in a position to hold on.
Ngannou said now that he has financial security for life and beyond, it’s all about choosing the right time to walk away. He’s seen too many examples of athletes continuing to work past their expiration date, but Ngannou is adamant he won’t be one of those people.
“Heavyweights can fight for a long time,” Ngannou said. “Even at middleweight, I think the last time he fought (Michael) Bisping in London, Dan Henderson was 46 years old, and that was at middleweight. Then Glover Teixeira became champion at 42 years old. He was a light heavyweight. But all I’m saying here is that I want to quit the sport before it gets away from me. I want to leave. Let’s see what happens. You make plans, but God has plans.”
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