Sean O’Malley Says There Are No Exciting Fights for Francis Ngannou Outside UFC

What is next for Francis Ngannou now that he’s the PFL world champion? Well, Sean O’Malley has the Cameroonian going up against the likes of UFC heavyweights Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. Yes, ‘Suga’ is of the opinion that there are exciting matchups in the UFC but not outside of it.

On his latest ‘Timbo Suga‘ show, the 29-year-old and his co-host Tim Welch were discussing Ngannou’s potential next fight. While ‘The Predator’ made some quick buck against Renan Ferreira last week, there’s no confirmation on his next outing.

Reflecting on this O’Malley asserted that Ngannou had no real competition outside the UFC.

“What’s an exciting fight other than Jon Jones? Or Tom Aspinall vs Francis (Ngannou)? Like there is exciting fights but they are in the UFC, there’s not going to be an exciting fight outside the UFC for Francis.”

Yes, Jones vs Ngannou, Tom vs Ngannou, or even Sergie Pavlovich vs Ngannou are the fights to make given its market value but that is now a near impossibility considering the Cameroonian’s awry fallout with the UFC.

Furthermore, a crossover event between PFL and the UFC is more of a fantasy right now given Dana White’s aversion to even entertaining the idea.

While a return to boxing might be in the cards for the 38-year-old Ngannou, neither the fighter nor the PFL have confirmed anything. However, ‘The Predator’ is ready to add a GLORY kickboxing champion to his 2025 hit list.

Ngannou vs Rico Verhoeven in the cards?

With last week’s spectacular performance against Ferreira, Ngannou has returned to the win column. He put out a statement proving that he is still the best in the business by finishing the Brazilian in the very first round of their bout. In addition to that, he claimed the PFL heavyweight title and is currently on the lookout for credible opponents.

And ‘The King of Kickboxing’ Rico Verhoeven is one name that gets ‘The Predator’ pumped. In fact, Ngannou as he admitted has previously crossed paths with the Dutch power puncher during training and is certainly an interesting matchup for the 38-year-old MMA icon.

During a conversation with MMA scribe Ariel Helwani, Ngannou reflected on a potential Kickboxing vs MMA event between Verhoeven, saying,

“I have trained with him. We’re not friends. I mean, we met once at the gym. Yeah, we’re friends, but not to the extent that we cannot fight each other. We’re gym friends. Send me a deal.”

Now, that’s exciting! Verhoeven is one of the biggest names in kickboxing and fight fans might even die to see the Dutchman against Ngannou in a massive crossover PPV event!

About the author

Kishore R

Kishore is a MMA journalist at The SportsRush with over two years of experience and more than 2000 articles to his name. While he is a qualified engineer, he truly enjoys his time crafting stories from the world of mixed martial arts. Old testament in his MMA education, Kishore picked up the sport watching the highlights of 1989’s Fight of the Year bout between Roberto Duran and Iran Barkley and has since been hooked to the controlled violence this sport is capable of. Following MMA for almost a decade and a half, Kishore has an advanced understanding of its tactical nature and uses his love for storytelling to express it with great effect. But most of all, he just wants to see Tony Ferguson bounce back and showcase his old swagger - “IT’S TONY TIME!”

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