"The Predator" is still on a pugilistic prowl.

MMA heavyweight icon Francis Ngannou is looking to enter the squared circle once more, and this time, the PFL champion and former UFC title holder wants to take on Deontay Wilder.

“I will do boxing next,” Ngannou told Sportsbook Review. “I want to. I’m not done with boxing. It’s not that MMA is easy. It’s the sport that I understand better and I have more experience in, but I say go for boxing.

"[I'm passionate about fighting Deontay Wilder] because there's an 80 percent chance that somebody will go to sleep. It will be one or the other."

In October 2023, Ngannou made his professional boxing debut and fought Tyson Fury in a competitive 10-round fight but suffered a split decision loss despite dropping The Gypsy King in the spirited slugfest. Ngannou was rewarded for his efforts in a fight against Anthony Joshua in March, but was dropped three times and wound up on the wrong end of a highlight-reel, second-round knockout.

"I don’t know if I will rematch Fury, I hope so," said Ngannou. "I never expected to win that fight by decision. I wasn't surprised. I was sad and people were arguing. But that's just how this game works."

Ngannou returned to MMA and made his PFL debut in October, knocking out Renan Ferreira in one round.

The former WBC champion Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs), meanwhile, has faded in recent years. "The Bronze Bomber" has lost four out of his last five fights since 2020. In June, Wilder looked sluggish and was knocked out by Zhilei Zhang in five rounds. In December 2023, Wilder dropped a one-sided unanimous decision to Joseph Parker.

"Maybe not in his past two fights, but Deontay Wilder is known as a guy that knocks everybody out or tries to knock you out," Ngannou said. "I’m going against that guy, and I myself can knock someone out. Deep inside me there is a little bit of ego, like I know I hit harder.

"I'm saying from my experience that we will have that ego that we both want to prove ‘no, it’s me [who hits harder]. Who is the biggest hitter between you and Deontay? Those sorts of conversations are popping around a little bit and even though you think you don’t care about it, it sticks somewhere in your mind.

"With this sport, there are ups and downs. For some reason when you are in your downs, people always find some scenario like, 'He's done, he's old, he wasn't what he thought he was.'

"I heard the same thing about me back in 2018, a long time before I even became a champion."