UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou wants a piece of Tyson Fury.
‘The Predator’, who defends his crown later this month against Ciryl Gane, is understood to have just one fight remaining on his current UFC deal and if recent reports are to be believed is requesting any new deal that he signs with the organisation to contain language which would allow him to take on challenges in the boxing ring.
And those challenges don’t come a lot bigger than Tyson Fury. ‘The Gypsy’ king is coming off his second successive win against Deontay Wilder and with the much-hyped Anthony Joshua fight now in ruins following the Brit’s defeat to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk, that has left Fury unsure of who his next bout may come against.
Dillian Whyte has been mentioned, as has Andy Ruiz and Usyk, but Francis Ngannou certainly hasn’t given up hope of squaring off with the WBC heavyweight champion — especially after Fury stoked the flames of a potential matchup on social media on Thursday.
Who would like to see me fight this beast boxing rules @ufc gloves?@danawhite @francis_ngannou pic.twitter.com/xONNoT8NzR
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) January 6, 2022
How about MMA rules with boxing gloves? I can do you that favor. https://t.co/NpCMOQ3DDu
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) January 6, 2022
you want to come in to my world calling me & wilder out to a boxing match. what i can guarantee you would be knocked out & also paid your highest purse to be so! so have a think 🤔 https://t.co/JtOgcydYCJ
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) January 6, 2022
After I handle business on Jan. 22 I’ll fight you under any special rule set you want. In a ring, an octagon or a phone booth. https://t.co/twRhBnFwwH
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) January 6, 2022
“Who would like to see me fight this beast boxing rules (with) UFC gloves,” Fury wrote initially, along with an image of the two combat sports world champions.
“How about MMA rules with boxing gloves? I can do you that favor,” replied Ngannou.
Fury shot back: “You want to come in to my world calling me and Wilder out to a boxing match? What i can guarantee you would be knocked out and also paid your highest purse to be so! So have a think.”
“After I handle business on Jan. 22 I’ll fight you under any special rule set you want. In a ring, an octagon or a phone booth,” said Ngannou.
Of course, several hurdles remain before these two could set foot in the same ring (or octagon or phone booth) but in a world where a YouTuber has boxed Floyd Mayweather, only a fool would entirely rule this one out.
