Ngannou’s MMA return date revealed by PFL boss ahead of huge Joshua boxing fight

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FRANCIS NGANNOU will return to the cage THIS YEAR depending on how his mega-money business in the boxing ring plays out.

The ex-UFC champion put his cage career on hold last year to make the transition to the boxing ring.

Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou before their boxing fightCredit: Getty

But he did so after signing for UFC’s rivals, the Professional Fighters League, which gave Ngannou the green light to box.

The Cameroonian will take on Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia tomorrow night, just five months after making his ring debut against Tyson Fury.

And during training in Riyadh, he watched from ringside as Renan Ferreira knocked out Ryan Bader.

It earned Ferreira the right to welcome Ngannou back into the fold at the PFL once he is done with British superstar AJ.

PFL founder Donn Davis told SunSport: “Francis is our partner, we always work around his schedule.

“He wants to be the Bo Jackson of martial arts; champion in boxing, champion in MMA, so we will work with his schedule.

“It could go sooner, it could go later, but he will have to deal with ‘La Problema,’ who destroyed Bader, a smart Bellator veteran.

“I destroyed him in 21 seconds and in eight seconds he was completely destroyed. That’s the next fight for Francis, whether it’s in the summer or at the end of the year.

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“We will work with that boxing schedule, with what happens in 48 hours when he will probably knock Joshua out.”

Ngannou, 37, dropped Fury, 35, in his boxing debut but suffered a controversial split-decision loss.

Did you notice the subtle change Francis Ngannou made to taunt Anthony Joshua during an intense confrontation?

Fury now faces Oleksandr Usyk, 37, for the undisputed crown on May 18, after withdrawing from the original February 17 date with a cut.

The winner between Joshua, 34, and Ngannou, 37, has promised a shot at the unified champion.

But whatever the results in the ring, Ngannou WILL be back in the cage within a year.

Davis added: “If not this year, then two months later. We call it February 2025.

“Over the next twelve months, Francis is 100 percent a PFL cager fighting Ferreira.”