Francis Ngannou has hinted at his return to boxing with some fresh training footage in the gym.
Ngannou hasn’t fought since last October, when he stopped Renan Ferreira in his PFL debut to become the promotion’s heavyweight champion two-and-a-half years after he left the UFC.
The victory came after ‘The Predator’ stepped into the boxing world for the first time through back-to-back defeats to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Now, the 38-year-old from Cameroon is expected to try his hand in boxing again before making a return to his beloved sport of MMA.
“Shaping that hook for who comes next,” Ngannou wrote on Friday via Instagram alongside some new training footage.
He can be seen throwing several deadly hooks and it has got fans talking.
“[That] s*** sounds like fireworks,” one fan said in response to Ngannou’s video.
“Swinging the hammer like the mighty Thor,” another added.
“I feel sorry for whoever is on the receiving end of those punches,” a third commented.
Ngannou has been called out by a variety of combat sports stars since his last fight.
Former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall has said several times that he would be open to the fight in MMA, even though he recognises he would be a huge underdog.
Many fans want to see Ngannou make a UFC return to fight current heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, after a mega clash with Jon Jones never came to fruition.
But UFC CEO Dana White shut the door firmly on that fight, for now at least, when he was asked about it in June.
“Probably not,” he responded, when asked about bringing Ngannou back to the UFC.
The pair fell out in 2022 over contract negotiations when Ngannou was the UFC heavyweight champion, causing ‘The Predator’ to seek more lucrative opportunities in the squared circle.
“I don’t have Ngannou under contract and Aspinall is the guy!” White added.
He later expanded on his comments at UFC Baku, saying: “I’m not a big fan, I would be shocked if Francis ever came back here on lots of different levels.
Aspinall has since been matched up with Ciryl Gane to make his first UFC heavyweight title defence at UFC 321 on October 21.
The most likely scenario for Ngannou meanwhile is a boxing fight with someone like Deontay Wilder.
Wilder dropped Tyrrell Herndon twice en route to a seventh-round stoppage victory on his return from a year-long hiatus in June.
Both men have been in talks for a huge clash in the squared circle since the beginning of this year, with Wilder confirming he regularly discusses the potential bout with management and promoters.