Francis Ngannou may already have his next fight lined up after returning on Rousey vs Carano card

One Francis Ngannou matchup that was discussed for May 16 is not dead yet.

The former UFC heavyweight champion is fast approaching his return to mixed martial arts, having not fought in the cage since his lone PFL appearance in October 2024.

A couple of years after destroying Renan Ferreira, Ngannou will fight Philipe Lins on Netflix in pursuit of a similar performance at Inglewood’s Intuit Dome.

But Lins was not the first choice for ‘The Predator’, and the original opponent has not ruled out revisiting the matchup down the line.

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Rico Verhoeven is still open to fighting Francis Ngannou in MMA

Before his return on the May 16 card was announced to come against Lins, Rico Verhoeven was offered the Ngannou fight.

The Dutch kickboxing legend entered 2026 searching for a new challenge after leaving Glory, where he had occupied the heavyweight throne for an incredible 12-year reign.

After turning down the UFC’s offer, Verhoeven also said no to Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions when they looked to book a collision with Ngannou.

The ‘King of Kickboxing’ had already given his word to Turki Alalshikh for a clash with Oleksandr Usyk, but that does not mean Verhoeven has pushed ‘The Predator’ completely out of his mind.

“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.

With that in mind, perhaps focus will return to negotiating a bout between Ngannou and Verhoeven, should the Cameroonian get the job done on Netflix next month.

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Verhoeven will challenge for Usyk’s WBC title at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt on May 23.

Not many are giving the Dutch legend a chance at becoming the first to defeat ‘The Cat’, but the likes of Eddie Hall and kickboxing champ Donovan Wisse are backing Verhoeven to shock the world.