Francis Ngannou has received a huge fight offer from an unexpected name who is looking to 'go out with a bang'.
The 39-year-old will return to MMA for the first time since 2024 against Philipe Lins on the undercard of Ronda Rousey vs Giana Carano on May 16th.
Ngannou's career has been stop-start since leaving the UFC following a pay dispute in 2023.
He turned his hand to boxing, facing former world champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in losing efforts.
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The Cameroonian also signed a contract with the PFL, though he had only one fight in the promotion.
Ngannou is interested in lining up more superfights after a period of inactivity. He recently called out fellow ex-UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones for a $30 million showdown amid Jones' issues with owner Dana White.
Now, another name has decided to throw his name into the hat.
Retired strongman Eddie Hall threw the gauntlet down during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show on Tuesday.
Hall, who is currently preparing for a boxing match versus Tommy Fury on June 13th, stepped into the cage for the first time in 2025. He stopped Mariusz Pudzianowski inside 30 seconds and is keen to fight as much as possible as his career winds down.
'The Beast' glowingly referred to Ngannou as one of the 'biggest, scariest b**tards on the planet' while speaking at length about his love of the sport.
"I wanna go out with a bang," he declared. Obviously, I'll do boxing, but I really love MMA. There are obviously people like Francis Ngannou who are just like the biggest, scariest b**tards on the planet... That's what I'm looking for. I think I'd wanna go up against the biggest, baddest person I can get up against."
Hall can't look past the test Fury will put up in the summer, with 'TNT' unbeaten in his professional career so far.
The bizarre matchup arose from an argument between Hall and Tommy's father, John. Hall had previously been on good terms with the family and filmed content with Tommy for his YouTube channel.
However, Hall's comments to older half-brother Tyson about a potential MMA fight rubbed John the wrong way.
"Sorry it has come to this, but sometimes men have to settle their differences. This is not a friendly encounter," Hall said.
"I want to go in there and prove a point.”
Daniel Marland