Overview
- On Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, Emelianenko told Ushatayka he would be interested in fighting Francis Ngannou under boxing rules and said his comment was speculative, not the start of negotiations.
- Emelianenko said accumulated injuries make an MMA return impossible for him now and that a boxing bout is the only realistic ring combat he would consider.
- He has never fought a sanctioned professional boxing match despite a long MMA career that ended with a first-round TKO loss to Ryan Bader at Bellator 290 in February 2023.
- Emelianenko also repeated complaints about UFC president Dana White saying offers to sign him often came when he was already under contract with other promotions.
- Ngannou’s recent high-profile pro boxing fights raise the matchup’s commercial and sporting plausibility but no formal offers, talks, or medical clearances have been reported and promoters would need to agree terms before anything happens.