The kickboxing king Verhoeven pushed The Ring, IBF, WBA and WBC heavyweight champion Usyk to the brink of elimination in a crossover bout before suffering a dramatic 11th-round stoppage loss at the Pyramids of Giza.

Following the fight, Verhoeven, who was boxing for just the second time, said he'll be focusing on the sweet science moving forward as he officially enters the next chapter of his fighting career.

Verhoeven will have several high-profile options to consider, and chief among them is a fight against Francis Ngannou.

Verhoeven was originally shortlisted to face Ngannou as part of Most Valuable Promotions’ debut MMA event in Los Angeles on May 16 but ended up taking the fight against Usyk instead. Ngannou, meanwhile, stopped Philipe Lins in one round.

Jake Paul and MVP are now looking to rekindle conversations for a slugfest that can be staged in a combat sport as preferred by Verhoeven and Ngannou.

“MVP is 100 percent interested in working with Rico on his next outing in boxing or MMA,” Nakisa Bidarian, CEO and co-founder of MVP, told The Ring.

Ngannou chimed in to offer his take on Verhoeven's performance following the fight and even posted a picture of them previously sparring together.

“Outsiders will never win, trust me I know, but Rico was the winner tonight – period,” Ngannou said on social media.

Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, lost both of his boxing bouts. The first came against Fury in a competitive split decision defeat after dropping “The Gypsy King” at the end of 2023. However, he was blasted inside two rounds by Anthony Joshua in March 2024.

Paul also shared his position on Verhoeven-Usyk.

"I truly love boxing and what happened seriously makes me sad. The sport and the fans deserve better," Paul said on social media after the fight was controversially stopped with a second remaining in the penultimate round with Usyk down two points on one scorecard and tied on the others.

"I can’t get away from this but Usyk is the best of our generation, and Rico just worked him every round. So is Rico the best of our generation?"

Like Verhoeven, Ngannou is also looking to navigate his career for the most sensible slugfests as he nears 40.

In addition to Ngannou, Verhoeven should be inclined to take on the likes of Moses Itauma, Daniel Dubois, Deontay Wilder and even fellow Dutchman Willy Kyakonye, if the bouts are offered to him.