Ngannou is scheduled to fight Joshua in his second professional boxing match in just over two weeks and his PFL debut has now been announced

Francis Ngannou will fight either Renan Ferreira or Ryan Bader on his MMA return after announcing the bout just two weeks before his boxing fight against Anthony Joshua.

Ngannou vacated his UFC heavyweight title last January and split with the promotion in order to pursue a career in boxing. The Cameroonian signed with rival MMA promotion PFL just months later and he will now fight the winner of Ferreira and Bader’s title clash later this year.

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Ferreira and Bader are fighting at the PFL vs Bellator World Championship event this Saturday at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – the same venue which will host Ngannou’s showdown with Joshua on March 8. Ngannou will be in attendance for Ferreira and Bader’s fight and could face-off in the SmartCage with the winner.

“The PFL is excited to announce Francis Ngannou’s return to MMA in the PFL pay-per-view division will be against the winner of the PFL Champion vs Bellator Champion heavyweight superfight between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader,” PFL CEO Peter Murray said.

“Francis is a true combat sports icon with a global fan base and appeal. We, along with the rest of the MMA world, will be watching to see who his first opponent will be, Ferreira or Bader.” Ngannou was cageside for Ferreira’s knockout win against Maurice Greene last year as the Brazilian went on to capture the promotion’s heavyweight title and $1million prize.

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Bader makes his PFL debut against Ferreira as Saturday marks the promotion’s first event since acquiring Bellator last November. Ngannou admitted he’s been paying close attention to Ferreira for a while and that fight intrigues him more than a match-up against Bellator champion Bader.

“I think out of those two, Renan Ferreira is the upcoming thing in the heavyweight division. I’ve been saying that for a year now. Even before the beginning of the PFL season, I knew this guy had something but I saw some clips of him. He has something quite special as far as speed and accuracy go. I can tell that he is somebody who is going to propose a lot of challenges in the future,” he told Mirror Fighting.

Ahead of his blockbuster fight against Ngannou, British-Nigeria boxer Anthony Joshua has suggested that it is not a big deal if the Cameroonian had knocked down Tyson Fury in his previous fight.

AJ admitted that he was not initially keen on his upcoming bout against the former UFC champion.

The pair will now face off in a massive clash at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 8.

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Ngannou stunned observers with his boxing ability against the Gypsy King and even knocked down the 35-year-old in Round 3 of their explosive fight.

With the fight coming up in less than a month, Joshua says he is not surprised, as he hailed his next opponent.

Meanwhile, boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has assured that former two-time world champion, Joshua, is in great shape but warned that it will be dangerous.

Sports Brief earlier reported that British boxers Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are on course for a massive payday provided they both win their next fights.

UPDATE ;Tyson Fury vs Oleksand Usyk: Who wins? Will Anthony Joshua be champ again? Delicious Orie heavyweight predictions

It was gathered that Argentine football legend Lionel Messi earns approximately $60 million a year due to his deal in America.

Joshua and Fury will earn $126 million for their fight. Paris Saint-Germain Kylian Mbappe makes just over €90 million per year.

SHOCKED boxing fans declared there is no way Anthony Joshua can knock out Francis Ngannou – after the Cameroonian showed off his insane physique.

The former UFC heavyweight champ steps into the boxing ring for a second time next month when he takes on AJ in Saudi Arabia.

After massively scaring Tyson Fury in October, he is confident of causing plenty of problems for Joshua.

And supporters are inclined to agree following the veteran’s latest Instagram post.

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Hulking Ngannou, 37, shared a video to his 6.6million followers of his trainer repeatedly slamming a weighted wall ball against his set of rock-solid abs in the gym.

The fighter remains unmoved in his training shorts with a towel around his neck and headphones on.

Ngannou captioned the clip: “My face when they said that I don’t belong in boxing. Not born different, built different.”

And that prompted a wave of responses with his followers feeling ominous for Joshua’s chances on March 8.

One said: “AJ ain’t knocking that thing out I’m sorry.”

Another wrote: “Only way you are beating this man is on points.”

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A fifth commented: “Legend says they had to add cement on the ball cause he was breaking them all.”

A sixth responded: “AJ better aim for the face or win on points.”

A seventh quipped: “Lmao couldn’t pay me to fight this man.”

An eighth claimed: “Francis is too strong for boxing.”

ninth put: “Absolute beast.”

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And a final user simply labelled him a “tank”.

However, AJ fans sent a similar chilling warning to Ngannou after he posted his own content from inside his training camp.