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Deontay Wilder vs. Francis Ngannou? It could happen.

Ngannou made a successful return to MMA competition this past October with a thudding first-round knockout of Renan Ferreira at PFL Battle of the Giants. It was Ngannou’s first MMA fight since January 2022 as he parted ways with the UFC in 2023, signed with PFL, and then participated in a pair of high-profile boxing bouts against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

After defeating Ferreira, Ngannou dedicated the win to his son Kobe, who died tragically this past April. He declined to comment on what his next move would be, though boxing remains on the table and Wilder is interested in negotiating a potential matchup of heavyweight stars.

“Even since I’ve been off, there’s been a lot of offers coming in,” Wilder told TMZ Sports. “A lot of things in different countries and stuff like that. Even with Francis, hope everything is going good for you, I’m sorry for your loss. I can only imagine what it’s like to lose a child. I never hope to even feel that feeling of it. I hope life is going beautiful for you, bro.”

“That’s a conversation I’m still looking to get in there in the mix and talk about,” Wilder added when asked about fighting Ngannou.

Wilder, a former WBC titleholder, is mired in the worst slump of his career with just one win in his past five outings. This past April, he lost to Zhilei Zhang via fifth-round TKO. The 39-year-old is still highly regarded for his finishing power, with all but one of his 43 career wins coming by way of KO/TKO.

Ngannou is 0-2 as a pro, though he was widely praised for scoring a knockdown of Fury en route to a controversial split decision loss. Against Joshua, his loss was more definitive as he was knocked out in the second round.

Regardless of what the official record says, Wilder won’t overlook Ngannou if they step into the ring together.

“Any fight is competitive,” Wilder said. “When you’ve got a man that’s got two hands and two feet and he’s got a heart, that will to win, you’ve got competition. You’ve got a fight on your hands. That’s why when you get in the ring you respect every man that steps in there. You just never know what dog he may bring to the fight.”

It’s unknown when Wilder will be able to compete as he told TMZ Sports he suffered an arm injury (“two tears in my shoulder”) in November 2023 ahead of losses to Zhang and Joseph Parker. Speaking about his recovery, Wilder is optimistic that he can continue to perform at high level.

“For me, the best is yet to come,” Wilder said. “We’re still going. We’re still here. We just get things together, I’m just handling a lot of things. I had a lot of outside distractions that I had to get rid of, a lot of burden upon me. I took care of a lot of people and it just became to a point where I just couldn’t do it no more. I’ve got seven kids of my own, I can’t take care of everybody.”

“Even the closest ones to me, I’ve been betrayed by so many people. It’s been a domino effect over the last five years. If anybody knows about betrayal, it’s worse than heartbreak.”

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UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Jon Jones might want to add another championship to his resume after UFC 309.

Just days away from returning to defend his UFC heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic in the main event from Madison Square Garden in New York, the incumbent champion addressed his recent comments where he stated rather emphatically that he had no interest in facing off with Tom Aspinall but instead suggested a potential showdown with reigning light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

While he’s faced blowback for that declaration, Jones stands by his decision but he’s also not looking to hold up a division or stop Aspinall from claiming the title once he’s gone. In fact, Jones says as much as he likes the idea of defending the heavyweight title against Pereira, he’d be willing to give up that belt with hopes that a different championship could potentially go up for grabs.

“It’d be cool to fight over the heavyweight championship but I would also willingly give up the heavyweight championship,” Jones told SportsNet on Monday. “I walked away from the light heavyweight championship. I’d love to walk away from this one as well on top, on [my] own terms, good head on your shoulders, making lots of money. I love the position that I’m in right now.

“Fighting Pereira for the ‘BMF’ belt, that would be cool. We both have two belts in two weight classes and the night we fought we’d both be fighting for our third belt, which would be the ‘BMF.’ How cool would that be?”

Jones suggesting a “BMF” title fight throws a whole new wrinkle into this potential matchup, especially given his long history as arguably the greatest fighter of all-time while Pereira has quickly earned a reputation as one of the nastiest knockout artists to ever compete in the UFC.

There is a current “BMF” champion in Max Holloway but that belt isn’t exactly weight class specific.

The first ever “BMF” title went to Jorge Masvidal after he defeated Nick Diaz at welterweight and then the belt moved to Justin Gaethje following a vicious knockout over Dustin Poirier at lightweight. Gaethje then lost the belt to Holloway at UFC 300 but who’s to say a second “BMF” title couldn’t get introduced for Jones vs. Pereira?

As much as Jones likes that idea, he also takes issue with the way things have played after he essentially dismissed Aspinall as a possible opponent worthy of his attention.

Aspinall might have an interim title wrapped around his waist right now but Jones doesn’t believe that belt should have been introduced in the first place.

A torn pectoral muscle prevented him from fighting Miocic back in November 2023 and in his absence, the UFC crowned Aspinall as the new interim champion after he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich. In Jones’ opinion, that fight ultimately created more problems than it solved.

“The interim championship shouldn’t have been there in the first place,” Jones said. “The only reason why there was an interim championship fight was because I got hurt and they needed to keep the importance of that Madison Square Garden event. But Sergei [Pavlovich] and Aspinall shouldn’t have been fighting for an interim title in the first place.

“They should have just been a replacement fight. A main event fight. I think making it an interim [title] fight was premature. Now you have a bunch of confused people.”

Jones believes he should have been given the opportunity to heal up from his injury and just return to defend the heavyweight championship without an interim title lingering in the shadows.

“When you have a dominant champion that’s been around as long as I have, there was no reason to put an interim championship belt out there,” Jones said. “That’s the repercussion of Madison Square Garden last year.”

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Back-And-Forth
| BJPenn.com

UFC

“Big Boy” has a new home.

Two weeks ago, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Robelis Despaigne was released after his loss to Austen Lane at UFC Vegas 99, which took place inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It was his second consecutive loss, and it was another stinker of a fight.

Today (Mon. Nov. 11, 2025), Karate Combat announced on its Instagram that Despaigne has signed with their promotion.

“We’ve signed Robelis Despaigne to our heavyweight division and he will be debuting at KC51.

Robelis has an insane track record with all his professional fights ending with a first round KO and with Robelis being a taekwondo Olympic Medalist winner he will surely bring something to the pit we havn’t seen before

Welcome Robelis, we’re excited to have you in KC”

Check out the announcement below:

While Despaigne was ultra disappointing inside the Octagon other than his UFC debut at UFC 299, there is still talent there. His signing with Karate Combat makes all the sense in the world, and he will thrive there, no doubt. Expect more viral knockouts (like this one).

“Big Boy” has no opponent yet but will debut at Karate Combat 51 in December.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight card, start time is for Friday night’s highly anticipated heavyweight showdown at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson (50-6, 2 no-contests) hasn’t fought since an exhibition draw with legend Roy Jones Jr. on Nov. 28, 2020. The 58-year-old hasn’t had a professional fight in almost 20 years when he quit at the end of the sixth round against Kevin McBride on June 11, 2005.

Jake Paul (10-1) is coming off a sixth-round knockout of BKFC star Mike Perry on July 20, 2024. He has won four fights in a row.

The Tyson vs. Paul fight card will kick off at 5:30 p.m. ET on the prelims, and will be on MMA Fighting.

Shadasia Green vs. Melinda Watpool

Lucas Bahdi vs. Armando Casamonica

Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington vs. Dana Coolwell

The Tyson vs. Paul will then head to Netflix at 8 p.m. ET. This portion of the card is as follows:

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson

Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 2

Neeraj Goyat vs. Whindersson Nunes

Mario Barrios vs. Abel Ramos

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Jake Paul is just days away from facing off against Mike Tyson this Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The highly anticipated fight will air live exclusively on Netflix.

Tyson initially retired from boxing in 2005 after a loss to Kevin McBride, in which he failed to answer the bell for the seventh round. Now, he’s stepping back into the ring for his first professional bout in 19 years.

Paul has boldly predicted a knockout victory over the legendary boxer, though he acknowledges it might be a “bittersweet” achievement. “When it happens, it’s going to be a little bittersweet because I have love for him, but at the current moment, we’re meant to go to war,” Paul said. “He’s trying to take the food off my plate, and I’m trying to take the food off of his plate—that’s what warriors do.”

Reflecting on the significance of the fight, Paul sees it as the culmination of his 12-year career across entertainment and now boxing. “I dreamed this, manifested it, and this fight will mark the start of my career in boxing. This is my moment to shine, and I’m going to show the world who I am,” Paul continued.

“Everyone’s doubted me. Everyone’s had something to say. Nothing was ever given to me; I’ve had to work for it all. I’ve been kicked off YouTube, kicked off platforms, canceled five times, and here I am, throwing the biggest event in entertainment. Now, this moment proves to the world what hard work and perseverance can do. I’m just happy to show that to other kids who may face adversity and need to keep proving themselves.”

As a pro, he has gone 10-1 with seven knockouts against opponents. Many of those wins have come over YouTubers and former MMA fighters.

Continue Reading Jake Paul Guarantees KO Win Over Mike Tyson: ‘It’s Already Written’ at MMA News.

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