Following his dominant return to the cage at PFL’s recent pay-per-view event in Saudi Arabia, heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has expressed interest in a future showdown with GLORY kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven.

In his first MMA bout since early 2022, Ngannou stopped Renan Ferreira in the first round, reigniting speculation about his next move.

During a post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani, Ngannou was pitched the idea of a potential fight against Verhoeven, who has been unbeaten for over a decade in kickboxing. Ngannou, who has trained with Verhoeven in the past, seemed intrigued by the prospect, responding, “We’re gym friends, but [they can] send me a deal.”

The proposed bout would pit two elite heavyweights from different combat sports against each other, with Verhoeven recently continuing his dominance by knocking out Levi Rigters. Though Verhoeven’s MMA experience is limited, Ngannou’s openness to the idea adds fuel to the growing speculation of a cross-discipline clash.