Francis Ngannou has finally said he is open to fighting Jake Paul, with the pair trading words at a press conference on Tuesday.
On 16 May, Ngannou (18-3) will fight fellow UFC veteran Philipe Lins (18-5), at an event organised by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. The heavyweight clash will serve as the co-main event to Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano, as those pioneers of women’s MMA end their respective retirements at the Intuit Dome in California.
And as Ngannou took to the stage at a press conference for the fight card, influencer Paul spoke from the crowd to taunt the former UFC heavyweight champion, who ventured into boxing in 2023 and 2024.
While Paul has won the majority of his own boxing bouts, he was stopped by British heavyweight star Anthony Joshua in six rounds in December – almost two years after “AJ” brutalised Ngannou in two rounds. The December contest took place after Paul had tried to set up a bout with Ngannou, who claimed at the time he hadn’t fully understood the American’s offer.
But Ngannou sees things more clearly now, he suggested on Tuesday, as he said: “No, I’m not interested in fighting Jake Paul... Listen, I’m not done: I’m interested in beating his ass.”
Paul, 29, responded from the audience: “I’m down, I’ve always been down. You were the option before Anthony Joshua, and you ran like a duck.
“And I bet you didn’t think I would last longer than you did with Anthony either, so you just know you get worked in boxing. I would love to see it someday.”
Ngannou retorted: “No, I think you were just being a small boy, not understanding, being a little disrespectful. That’s why I wanna kick your ass now.
JAKE PAUL AND FRANCIS NGANNOU GOING AT IT 😯#RouseyCarano
— Netflix Sports (@netflixsports) March 10, 2026
Saturday, May 16
LIVE on Netflix pic.twitter.com/03qVoTWyuS
“I really didn’t wanna fight you, but now I wanna beat you, so there’s a difference. That’s why I [made] this statement that I wanna just beat you up.”
Ngannou, 39, left the UFC in early 2023 before signing with the PFL, a rival MMA promotion that had backing from Paul. However, Ngannou fought just once in the PFL, stopping Renan Fereira in the first round in October 2024, after the PFL had allowed the Cameroonian to box.
In Ngannou’s two boxing matches, he suffered a controversial points loss to then-champion Tyson Fury and the afore-mentioned KO by Joshua.
Still, some regard Ngannou as the most-destructive puncher in MMA history. His next foe will be Lins, who similarly fought in both the UFC and PFL. While the Brazilian, 40, did not reach the same heights as Ngannou in the UFC, he did win the PFL heavyweight title in 2018.
