Francis Ngannou has been offered a title fight by Bellator star Ryan Bader - if he decides to sign a contract with the promotion.
'The Predator' has not fought since defending his UFC title against Cyril Gane last January, but he has since announced that he will part ways with the promotion and vacate his heavyweight belt. Ngannou was unable to agree a new contract with UFC president Dana White later announcing he would release the star and make him a free agent.
Now Ngannou is free to pursue a whole host of opportunities which could include a series of boxing fights against the likes of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. However the Cameroon fighter could elect to remain in MMA and instead sign to fight under a new banner with PFL and Bellator considered the front runners.
Heavyweight star Bader, who recently defeated and retired Fedor Emelinanenko, believes a future fight is what fans would want to see if he decides to accept an offer with the label. "When he signs the contract or whatever, then we could talk about it," Bader said at the press conference after his latest win when discussing the former UFC champion. "I mean, Tyson Fury's calling him out and all that.
"I assume he is going to go and box instead. You know, once he signs with Bellator, we could kind of cross that bridge. But I'm looking to fight before that, so if it happens down the road, cool. "He's not signed, first off. I don't think he's going to come here but if he does, awesome. I think he's one of the best heavyweights in the world and to get to go out there and beat him, and there's no question like okay, I'm legit."
Ngannou would likely prefer to fight in the squared circle instead given the lucrative purses that could be on offer he is to take on WBC champion Fury or former two-time world champion Joshua. A fight with the 'Gypsy King' has been high on his priority list, but he may face a wait while the Briton battles for the undisputed titles with Oleksandr Usyk.
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Bellator chief Scott Coker has insisted that he could be a potential option given they can also offer the former champion a deal in partnership with ShowTime Boxing. "Of course Francis is somebody that we would have high interest in," Coker told the MMA Hour "I know there's a dialogue going on and I look forward to sitting down in the very near future.
"Francis Ngannou would be a great addition to any roster and you know, I think we would be a great fit because you have Showtime Boxing, he could do boxing, and he could do MMA with us, so it'd be a one-stop shop for him. "We will invite him [to Bellator 290], but more importantly is when we can sit down and really talk business."
