Francis Ngannou and Deontay Wilder in Talks for Heavyweight Showdown

Ngannou’s Unconventional Path

Ngannou, 38, rose to prominence as the UFC heavyweight champion before leaving the promotion in early 2023. Soon after, he signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) but has since built his name more through boxing than MMA.

His pro boxing debut came in October 2023 against Tyson Fury, where he shocked the world by dropping the lineal champion in the third round and narrowly losing by split decision. However, the momentum was short-lived Anthony Joshua handed Ngannou a crushing defeat in March 2024. Flooring him three times in two rounds en route to a brutal knockout.

Ngannou also endured a devastating personal tragedy in April 2024 with the death of his 15-month-old son. He later returned to the MMA cage in October, dominating Renan Ferreira for a first-round stoppage w in and claiming the PFL heavyweight title. His MMA record now stands at 18-3, with 17 victories coming via knockout or submission.

Wilder’s Rocky Road

Deontay Wilder, 38, was once one of boxing’s most feared punchers, reigning as WBC heavyweight champion from 2015 to 2020. His career-defining rivalry with Fury saw him dethroned in February 2020 and stopped again in their October 2021 trilogy bout.

Since then, Wilder’s career has been plagued by inactivity and uneven results. He delivered a quick knockout of Robert Helenius in 2022, but after lengthy layoffs suffered back-to-back defeats outpointed by Joseph Parker in December 2023 and kn ocked out by Zhilei Zhang in June 2024.

He rebounded in June 2025 with a seventh-round TKO of Tyrrell Anthony Herndon, a performance that suggested he still has fight left in him. Before that bout, Wilder expressed enthusiasm for a potential Ngannou showdown, saying:

“I’m definitely interested.”

A Battle of Power Punchers

If finalized, a Ngannou-Wilder matchup would pit two of the most dangerous punchers of their respective sports against one another. For Ngannou, it represents another chance to prove himself in the boxing ring after mixed results. For Wilder, it’s an opportunity to reassert relevance after a career slide in the post Fury era.

Both men have devastating knockout power and both have questions to answer. That makes their potential clash not only intriguing but potentially explosive.