Morning Report | Eddie Hall open to superfight with Francis Ngannou ‘if the money is right’

We’re one step closer to the biggest superfight in MMA.

This past weekend, former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall squared off with five-time World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski at KSW 105. The bout was one of the most highly anticipated freakshow fights in recent history, and despite it being his official MMA debut, Hall demolished Pudzianowski in just 30 seconds.

After the fight, Hall spoke about a possible rematch and made it clear he’s not done with MMA yet, but said he has no aspirations of being a ranked fighter, he just wants fights that are fun and make sense, especially if they’re against “the freaks of the world.”

Enter Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou is the lineal heavyweight champion of MMA and widely considered one of the most imposing fighters to ever step in a cage. Even before this past weekend, KSW CEO Martin Lewandowski suggested the winner of Hall vs. Pudzianowski would be a great opponent for Ngannou. And Hall seems game, if the price is right.

“F***ing hell. … You’re basically chucking me in with the wolves,” Hall told Ariel Helwani. “I would need a bit of time. I would need a lot of training, and it would have to be a lot of money, but I think with anything in life, if the money is right, I would take it.

“The only way I’d fight Francis Ngannou would be a hell of a training camp. I’d probably want a good six to nine months, training with top-level athletes and top camps. The money would have to be good, because you’re literally putting your life on the line.

“I think the fun thing about that, Francis Ngannou outclasses me in every single way possible in the fight world. But it’s that unknown that if I catch him, if I throw that right hand and it just gets him on the end of the chin, it can happen. It’s that unknown.

“So I wouldn’t be going in thinking I’ve got zero chance, but it would have to be a big-money incentive for me to do that, and literally put my life on the line going in the ring with someone like Ngannou.”

Hall signed a two-fight deal with KSW, with the second fight intended to be a rematch with Pudzianowski; however, Pudzianowski did not seem particularly interested in the fight after this weekend, and Hall understands why not. But if it’s not Pudzianowski and it’s not Ngannou next, there are still a few other options that Hall would be interested in, chief among them, Dillon Danis, who recently took a shot at Hall over a supposed fight that fell through between them. Hall denies he ever was linked to such a fight, but he’d be more than happy to make it happen now.

“I think that’s exactly what this freak fighting is,” Hall said. “It’s like someone with zero experience, coming in and fighting a world champion. And Dillon Danis may not be a good striker, but he is one of, if not the best in the world at jiu-jitsu. You put a world champion [in] jiu-jitsu against a 150 kg ex-world’s strongest man, what happens? I think that is entertainment. I think that is something people want to see. So, Misfits, KSW, whoever, make that fight happen. I want to rip Dillon Danis’s arms and legs off his torso.”

And if none of these options pan out, Hall says he can always go back to his roots: fighting two guys at once.

“Something that does excite me is the two-vs-one fights,” Hall said. “When I did that two-vs-one fight back in June/July last year. I was in my element. I absolutely loved that. … Taking that two-vs-one fight was dangerous. You’ve got two arms, two legs, two sets of lungs, and hearts. They might not be the same weight, but it’s double the trouble. That was a dangerous fight for me to take, and I don’t think there are a lot of men on the planet that would take that fight. So I think the two-vs-one has got good legs. I think people want to see it.”

Beef. Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney erupt into explosive war of words at pre-fight press conference.

Palestine. Belal Muhammad will walk out with Palestinian flag at UFC 315: ‘Nothing is going to stop me from doing it.’

Tough look. Din Thomas makes Tom Aspinall prediction for UFC 317 main event, questions Jon Jones reign.

Weight. Bo Nickal explains viral fight week weigh-in video, ‘biggest cut’ of UFC career.

RDR. Reinier de Ridder explains why he favors Dricus du Plessis over Khamzat Chimaev after training with both.

Backup. Coach discusses Ian Machado Garry’s short preparation for UFC 315 backup role.

Arrest. UFC fighter Sedriques Dumas arrested on multiple charges including robbery and battery, held on more than $500K bond.

Suspended. Taila Santos suspended 6 months for failing drug test.

Wild press conference.

UFC Des Moines media day.

Light work.

Everybody gotta weigh in on this, I guess.

We’ll never forget Holland vs. Holland.

No Bets Barred. Is UFC Des Moines about to be upset city?

Quack.

The essential fight week schedule.

Aura level check: Still extraordinarily high.

I don’t remember Crystal Lake being in Des Moines.

Yay or nay?

The man does not lack confidence.

Bringing back Chuck Norris jokes. Classic.

Don’t worry, KSI brought the bouncer at that bar with him.

Cody Durden not playing around.

I’ll be honest, couldn’t care less about Eddie vs. Dillon Danis because Dillon Danis is a deeply uninteresting person. But Eddie vs. Ngannou is my everything. And if the consolation prize is Eddie vs. Bank and No Money from Fight Circus (the Assymetrical MMA champs!) then, well, that’s alright, too.

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and like us on Facebook.