Ever since Francis Ngannou left the UFC in January 2023, the Cameroonian has carved out a path that few fighters in MMA had explored before him. For the unversed, his final Octagon appearance came against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022, where he successfully defended his heavyweight title before eventually leaving the promotion after contract negotiations failed to produce an agreement.
Ngannou ultimately allowed his UFC deal to expire and walked away as the reigning heavyweight champion, leaving the promotion without ever losing the belt inside the Octagon. After leaving the UFC, Ngannou joined the PFL, signing with the promotion while also taking on the role of chairman of PFL Africa.
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The partnership produced mixed results, with Ngannou competing just once under the PFL banner. He defeated Renan Ferreira in 2024 before leaving the organization this past March. In May 2026, Ngannou returned to MMA for the first time since that PFL appearance, quickly knocking out Philipe Lins for MVP MMA on Netflix.
However, his biggest fights in recent years have come in the boxing ring. Ngannou tested himself against heavyweight boxing stars Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua and reportedly made nearly $30 million from the two bouts. However, his longtime coach Eric Nicksick believes Ngannou could have gone down as one of the greatest fighters ever if he had focused solely on MMA.
Eric Nicksick Wants Francis Ngannou to Focus More on MMA Than Boxing
Speaking to MMA Junkie, the Xtreme Couture coach said, “I’ll get caught up with him and see what’s on his mind, and what he wants to do from a boxing standpoint or MMA standpoint. Hopefully MMA, because obviously I think we’re making some really good strides there. But we’ll see what MVP has to offer for him.”
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He added, “For me personally, the boxing side of things is very much a learning experience for me. I use that time to really sit back and watch what Dewey (Cooper) does and the other coaches and learn how to kind of formulate a game plan when it comes to something that I’m not very familiar with. But on the MMA side of things, we’ve talked about this for years, man.”
This is where Nicksick made his biggest claim about Ngannou. He said, “Just the development of Francis from that Jairzinho fight all the way to Ciryl Gane to now. it’s like, man, there’s so many things that we’re advancing on. I just wish we had more time in the MMA space because I feel like we could break a lot of records, and he could be left as the greatest ever to do it. And that’s just having more time in the cage. So that’s where I think, selfishly, I would love to see him fight more MMA.”
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Ngannou is a former UFC heavyweight champion and, in theory, remains the lineal heavyweight champion in MMA. However, some have argued that his public rivalry with Dana White played a role in him not getting the chance to face more of the division’s top names during his UFC run.
Still, whatever Ngannou may have missed out on in terms of his MMA legacy, he has more than made up for it financially. The former champion reportedly earned around $600,000 for his final fight at UFC 270, while his boxing appearances outside the promotion have brought him millions.
