Pouya Rahmani calls out Francis Ngannou at PFL Dubai: 'I want the big fish'
The unbeaten heavyweight named Francis Ngannou as his next target in a backstage interview at PFL Dubai and said "he cannot run".
Pouya Rahmani used a backstage interview at PFL Dubai to name Francis Ngannou as the man he wants next.
Asked what was next, the heavyweight said: "After this fight, for sure, I want the big fish, you know, I want Ngannou."
He described Ngannou as "the MVP champion" and said: "So after 2026, we don't have PFL anymore. He cannot run."
Rahmani also laid out how he sees it going. "When I beat the number 1 ranked, I'm going to be number 1 contender. So I'm going to have the MVP belt and I'm going to beat this guy."
Rahmani was 6-0 going into PFL Dubai, where he was on the main card against Oleg Popov at the Coca-Cola Arena. The PFL Dubai card was headlined by Vadim Nemkov's first defence of his PFL heavyweight title against Sergei Bilostenniy.
He has said before that he would dominate Ngannou, pointing to his wrestling and jiu-jitsu credentials. Ngannou's next fight has not been confirmed since he finished Philipe Lins on Netflix in May.
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Reported by the Combat Sports UK desk. Times are UK and Irish time, and we update the report when the facts change. How we work.