Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has another major boxing match on the books.
This time, Ngannou will face Anthony Joshua, the two-time world heavyweight boxing champion. The 10-round heavyweight fight is set to take place March 9 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
MMA Junkie confirmed the booking and date following an announcement from Saudi Arabia’s chairman of general authority for entertainment Turki Alalshikh through Ariel Helwani.
A news conference to promote the fight is expected later this month in London.
Ngannou (0-1) left the UFC in early 2023 and declared his transition into the world of boxing. Though many doubted a massive ‘money fight’ was on the table, Ngannou proved the skeptics wrong when he secured a professional bout against Tyson Fury.
Although Ngannou lost the bout by split decision, his competitive effort and knockdown of Fury garnered praise and respect across multiple combat sports communities. Many viewers even went as far as to say they thought Ngannou won the fight.
Ngannou, 37, now makes a second attempt to notch his first win against the U.K.’s Joshua (27-3), who recently competed Dec. 23 and defeated Otto Wallin by fifth-round corner stoppage. The win extended his streak to three. In Joshua’s 27 career victories, 24 of them have been by knockout.