Francis Ngannou claims that he “never left MMA” and that he has no plans to give up on his boxing career.
On October 19, the heavyweight, who has only fought twice in boxing since January 2022, squares up against Renan Ferreira in mixed martial arts.
Ngannou, 37, claims he is not considering his return to mixed martial arts (MMA) a “comeback” despite his defeats over former world champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
“I never quit mixed martial arts. Furthermore, I still box,” Ngannou said to BBC Sport.
“I never quit MMA; I’m not going back. The misunderstanding stems from that.
Ngannou has just three losses in 20 MMA fights and 12 knockouts in those victories.
Ferreira, 34, has 11 knockouts in his 13 wins.
Ngannou is a former UFC champion but left the organisation in part to purse boxing alongside his MMA career.
The Cameroonian announced his move to rival MMA promotion the PFL in May 2023 but then competed in successive boxing fights.
Despite losing a controversial split decision to Fury and then suffering a heavy knockout defeat by Joshua, Ngannou does not see his switch to boxing as a “negative” experience.
“The fact that those fights even happened, it was something exceptional,” he said.
“I had that dream for over 20 years and I finally put it into fruition. That was dream chasing, a life-long dream I completed.”