Francis Ngannou says he “never left MMA” and is not closing the door on continuing his boxing career either.

The heavyweight fights Renan Ferreira on 19 October in his first MMA fight since January 2022, having had two boxing fights since then.

Ngannou, 37, lost to former world champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua but says he is not calling his return to MMA a “comeback”.

“I never left MMA. Also, I haven’t left boxing,” Ngannou told BBC Sport.

“I’m not returning to MMA, I never left MMA. That’s the confusion.”

Ngannou has just three losses in 20 MMA fights and 12 knockouts in those victories.

Ferreira, 34, has 11 knockouts in his 13 wins.

Ngannou is a former UFC champion but left the organisation in part to purse boxing alongside his MMA career.

The Cameroonian announced his move to rival MMA promotion the PFL in May 2023 but then competed in successive boxing fights.

Despite losing a controversial split decision to Fury and then suffering a heavy knockout defeat by Joshua, Ngannou does not see his switch to boxing as a “negative” experience.

“The fact that those fights even happened, it was something exceptional,” he said.

“I had that dream for over 20 years and I finally put it into fruition. That was dream chasing, a life-long dream I completed.”