Francis Ngannou and Vadim Nemkov was a fight the PFL were eyeing before the Russian’s massive win at PFL Lyon.
The former Bellator champion crowned himself the official PFL heavyweight champion on Friday night with an impressive victory over 2023 Tournament winner Renan Ferreira in Lyon. And he immediately emerged as the frontrunner for Ngannou’s next opponent.
What was Francis Ngannou’s most impressive UFC performance?
‘The Predator’ knocked out Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez, Curtis Blaydes, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and more during his stint in the Octagon.
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Ex-UFC champion Ngannou has been out of action since his own win over Ferreira in October of last year in Saudi Arabia. A dearth of top opponents at the weight has hindered his ability to fight regularly, but speaking with Bloody Elbow, CEO John Martin confirmed talks are underway between both parties.
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Vadim Nemkov’s PFL Lyon win sets up Francis Ngannou fight
On Saturday night, Vadim Nemkov secured a first round submission over the gigantic Brazilian Renan Ferreira to secure the heavyweight title at PFL Lyon. With the division now having a new champion, a legitimate storyline and contender emerged for Francis Ngannou, who has been on ice.
Do you want to see Francis Ngannou fight Vadim Nemkov?
Is Vadim Nemkov the right opponent for Ngannou’s MMA comeback? Let us know below!
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The Russian had long been viewed as the leading option for Ngannou’s MMA return, provided he could get past ‘Problema’. It would have been disastrous for the Brazilian to win given how unlikely a rematch would be after he was obliterated in the first meeting.
Indeed, Ngannou himself took notice of it and immediately headed to social media to tease fans ahead of a potential matchup. “I been ready for a long time,” the former UFC champion wrote on X. “See you soon…”
John Martin opens up about Francis Ngannou talks
Earlier this week prior to PFL Lyon, Bloody Elbow caught up with PFL CEO John Martin, who noted that in the case of a Nemkov victory, he might be the opponent for Ngannou. It would seem to make the most sense given the Cameroonian’s status as ‘Super Fights’ Champion.
“I think it would be a very interesting matchup, but we’ll see,” Martin explained. “We’ve been talking to Francis and he knows we’re trying to come up with something pretty special for him, so let’s see how the week goes.
“I look forward to Francis fighting in 2026 in the not-too-distant future, hopefully… I’ve spoken to Francis and met with him in person a number of times. We’re pretty frequently in conversation and the fact is he wants to fight.
“We’re looking for a fight that’s worthy of him and while we can’t talk any specifics right now we are working hard to set up something really interesting… It’s going to delight the fans who we know want to see him fight.
“I’m not going to get into specifics about private conversations but we have talked about fights that make sense. I think at this point he’s been out of the cage for a long time and he wants to fight and we understand that.”
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