Francis Ngannou’s next opponent may be waiting after Rousey vs Carano card return

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There’s still a chance the May 16 bout between Francis Ngannou and a familiar opponent could take place after all.

Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, is closing in on his return to mixed martial arts. He hasn’t fought since his only PFL appearance in October 2024.

Two years removed from his dominant win over Renan Ferreira, Ngannou is set to face Philipe Lins at Inglewood’s Intuit Dome, streaming live on Netflix. He’ll be looking to put on a similar show this time around.

However, Lins wasn’t Ngannou’s first choice for this fight, and the original opponent hasn’t closed the door on making it happen in the future.

Rico Verhoeven is still considering an MMA fight with Francis Ngannou

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Before the fight against Lins was set, Rico Verhoeven had been in talks to face Ngannou.

The Dutch kickboxing legend came into 2026 looking for a fresh challenge after ending his remarkable 12-year reign as Glory’s heavyweight champion.

Verhoeven turned down offers from both the UFC and Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, despite their interest in setting up a fight with Ngannou.

The ‘King of Kickboxing’ had already committed to a fight with Oleksandr Usyk, but that hasn’t closed the door on a future bout with ‘The Predator’.

“The reason I rejected this offer (to fight Ngannou) is because of the Usyk fight,” Verhoeven told talkSPORT. “100 percent, I would like to revisit that (fight with Ngannou) in the future. That would be a great event.”

“But for me, the Usyk fight just made more sense (right now),” he added.

If Ngannou comes through his next fight as expected, there could be renewed interest in making that matchup happen.