UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has revealed that he could return to the Octagon by the end of the year.

Back in January, Francis Ngannou surprised a lot of fans by using his newly-found wrestling skills to defeat Ciryl Gane and unify the UFC heavyweight championship. However, it didn’t take long for Ngannou to reveal that he’d been dealing with a knee injury that was likely going to lead to surgery.

He got that surgery a few months later and ever since then, ‘The Predator’ has been providing fans with regular updates regarding his recovery.

Now, in an interview with TMZ, he’s given a timeline that should get us all excited about the division in Q4 and beyond.

“It’s getting better,” Ngannou said. “It’s been only 3 months, so yeah, I’m still doing physical therapy.”

“If everything goes well I’ll be ready by the end of the year because it’s gonna be 9 months. So, let’s say late December or early next year.”

“You know, as for now let’s fight for the situation and get everything squared up, and then when I will be close to the return, we will see where the landscape is at ’cause a lot of things can happen.”

Quotes via TMZ

Although he may be 35, it feels as if Ngannou is only just starting to come into his prime in mixed martial arts. The heavyweight division is where many fighters are able to stick it out and perform at a high level for longer than most others, and you can bet he’ll be hungry to prove that he’s still the best in the world upon making his comeback.

Do you think there’s a chance we could see Francis Ngannou return by the end of the year? If so, who do you think he’ll defend the title against?