The Cameroonian-French fighter is the heavyweight champion in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and the organisation's chairman Donn Davis has revealed that he intends to combine the two disciplines over the next year.

Ngannou impressed on his boxing debut against Tyson Fury in 2023 although he was comprehensively beaten when he took on Anthony Joshua last year.

Davis told Sky Sports: "He's going to fight twice this year - once in MMA, once in boxing. What order? I'm not sure. What opponents? We're working on options.

"We support Francis and that's why he's at the PFL and I think you'll see over time other mega superstars come to the PFL because of that reason. What do they want to achieve and how do we do that together? How do you do both things and both things well?

"We view it as upside but there is risk. There is no free lunch in the world whatever you do. Could he get hurt? Could he diminish his reputation? Could it delay certain schedules? Could it hurt other opponents? Of course, there is no free lunch.

"He's now the most beloved fighter because of the challenges and the risks he's taken so we view the upside as greater than the downside."

Davis explained that the PFL is keen to stage a bout between Ngannou and former heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder - with a possible hybrid ruleset.

He said: "I think Deontay Wilder is one that we've talked about, that he has talked about. Some sort of mixed rules or alternating rounds or just taking one aspect away from MMA rules.

"I think Deontay Wilder is particularly interesting but you have to get the fans to understand it and it be a legitimate sport."