‘He looked lost’ – Francis Ngannou attracts health concern from UFC legend in potential fight with heavyweight’s big puncher

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier believes a fight against Deontay Wilder is ‘concering’ for Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou made his boxing debut in October 2023, suffering a somewhat controversial split decision defeat to Tyson Fury.

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Five months later, the Cameroonian fought another British boxing legend in Anthony Joshua, but the outcome was much different as he was knocked out inside two rounds.

Ngannou put to bed speculation of his boxing career being short-lived when he confirmed this month that he would ‘do boxing next’, instead of taking another fight in his primary sport, MMA.

The 38-year-old is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL) – the promotion he joined after leaving the UFC as their heavyweight champion.

Founder and Chairman of the PFL Donn Davis had been working closely with Ngannou to confirm the latter’s next steps in the combat sports world.

He told talkSPORT MMA in January that it would be ‘one MMA and one boxing’ for his biggest star this year, with boxing the more likely first stop.

However, even as a big fan of ‘The Predator’, UFC legend Cormier isn’t convinced a route back to boxing is the best for Ngannou.

“We don’t see him hurt, he’s big and powerful. People don’t hurt Francis Ngannou, but when it happened in the [Anthony Joshua] fight, he looked lost,” Cormier said.

“That’s what’s concerning to me. Because I know there will be moments in that fight with Deontay Wilder the way that he punches where he’s going to need to find safety.

“I thought the most dangerous fight for Francis was Deontay Wilder because Wilder, who I was on the Olympic team with, is more free and also less technical.

“That’s the nice way to [describe] Deontay Wilder’s boxing style. He’s less technical.

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“So the punches may be loopy. He may throw them from odd angles. But he has this unbelievable power that allows you to go to sleep.”

After leaving the UFC, citing a contract dispute with the organisation’s president Dana White as his reason, Ngannou made quick work of Renan Ferreira on his PFL debut in October last year.

Since the victory, the Cameroonian has called for a big-hitting war with fellow power puncher Wilder to get his first professional boxing win.

The bout would be an extremely marketable showdown, given both men are widely recognised as the two most powerful punchers in combat sports.

But Cormier believes it has to be one or the other for Ngannou at this point in his career.

“When he left boxing after getting knocked out the way that he did,” Cormier explained.

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“Everyone was like, ‘Ok, this Francis Nganou thing was fun, let’s see if he still has it in mixed martial arts.’ 

“He then fights Ferreria and looks amazing. He looks like he could still be the best mixed martial arts heavyweight in the world.

“But it can’t be: come back to MMA to regain some sort of momentum and bring it back to boxing…

“As a person that considers Francis as a friend it’s concerning, because I don’t want to see Francis get knocked out.”

Although Ngannou would make a huge amount of money for getting in the ring once again, Cormier can’t help but wonder if they enormous payday is work the potential damage Ngannou might take.

“There were people picking Francis to beat Joshua,” Cormier concluded.

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“I love Francis but not to insult him, Anthony Joshua felt so less of a threat that he, who is traditionally one of the most passive boxers in the world for a heavyweight champion, went after Francis. 

“He didn’t feel the threat because of the lack of experience that Francis had in boxing.

“Sure, he’s going to make a boat load of money, he always does, but at what point do you go: ‘I don’t know’. 

“Because if you ask me it would seem like he’s up against it again.

“Maybe he’s just the biggest, baddest man on the planet that we all believe and he doesn’t care that he’s up against it and he wants to prove everyone wrong like he did the first time when he fought Tyson Fury and he fought him to a very close fight. 

“But we cannot ignore the visuals of what we saw the last time, especially when he came back to MMA and fought so well.”

Wilder has yet to return since suffering back-to-back defeats against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.

The ‘Bronze Bomber’ looked a shadow of his gun-slinging self, but still believes he has enough left in the tank to return at the age of 39.