“I’ve spoken to Francis a number of times,” Martin told MMA Fighting. “He knows we’re working on something very special for him. I’d like to see what happens in the fight this week and see if [Vadim] Nemkov wins, if that makes sense. But Francis knows that we’re forward to him fighting in 2026, relatively soon hopefully and we’re trying to put something together that’s very special for him. “He’s got one more fight under his contract and we’ll see what happens after that. In the meantime, he’s been a great ambassador for us and PFL Africa. I know he’s explored some [options] on the boxing front, too. We’ve been in reasonably frequent communication with him and his manager and his lawyer. I look forward to seeing Francis in the cage again.” Ngannou hinted recently that his current PFL contract expires before the UFC is scheduled to go to the White House in June as he’s called for a fight against Jon Jones. Meanwhile, a new PFL heavyweight champion is set to be crowned on Saturday in Lyon, France when Vadim Nemkov clashes with Renan Ferreira. A win by Nemkov could serve as the perfect opponent for Ngannou in his return to MMA. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen but Martin vows that Ngannou is still very much part of the PFL’s plans for the future heading into 2026. “Yeah [he will fight in PFL again],” Martin said. “I just saw him not that long ago and he looks like he’s in great shape. I’m not worried about him not being in physical condition. He’s a physical specimen all around. Yes, stay tuned.”