Curtis Blaydes has expressed interest in a potential boxing match against Francis Ngannou once his UFC career concludes. Blaydes stated he would be open to facing Ngannou in the boxing ring if Ngannou remains active at that time. The heavyweight contender views such a matchup as a possibility on his way out of mixed martial arts.
Curtis Blaydes has gone on record saying he would welcome a boxing match against Francis Ngannou once his time in the UFC comes to an end, framing the crossover bout as a potential final chapter to his MMA career.
Blaydes, known as "Razor," currently sits fourth in the UFC heavyweight rankings and carries a professional MMA record of 19-6-0. The 35-year-old American, who trains out of Elevation Fight Team, stands six-foot-four with an 80-inch reach and has built his reputation as one of the division's most relentless grapplers, averaging 5.38 takedowns per 15 minutes throughout his career. He also lands significant strikes at a rate of 3.56 per minute with 50 percent accuracy, making him a credible threat both on the feet and on the canvas.
Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion from Cameroon, holds an 18-3-0 record and sits at number 12 in the pound-for-pound rankings despite having departed MMA for boxing. The 38-year-old stands an identical six-foot-four but holds a notable reach advantage at 83 inches, or 211 centimeters, compared to Blaydes. Ngannou's power has long been regarded as among the most dangerous in combat sports history.
Blaydes specified that the matchup would only materialize if Ngannou is still active in boxing by the time Blaydes wraps up his UFC run, leaving the timeline open-ended.
Why it matters
- Blaydes is still an active and ranked UFC heavyweight, meaning this scenario remains a post-career discussion rather than an imminent event
- A crossover bout would pit one of MMA's premier wrestlers against one of combat sports' most feared punchers in a pure boxing context
- Ngannou's continued presence in boxing keeps such matchups plausible, though nothing close to a formal agreement has been reported
