Francis Ngannou Lists Tyson Fury And Other Possible Boxing Opponents
Francis Ngannou will be fighting for the undisputed UFC Heavyweight title at UFC 270. He squares off against Interim heavyweight champion, Cyril Gane in what could be the last fight on his contract. By now, enough has been mentioned about his contract situation with the UFC so a win or loss can certainly change a lot in 2022 for the heavyweight division depending on what happens in the event. But, what if Ngannou does decide to entertain free agency?
Crypto sponsors, and others will likely still want to do business with Ngannou as long as he is in the business of knocking people out. Combat sports is the only business around for that and outside of MMA, boxing always seems to be tempting because of the pay difference between MMA fighters and boxers, Ngannou knows this which is why boxing is something he said he could likely be doing according to a recent interview with Complex.
“I don’t know the exact state of my situation with the UFC. But yeah, I will more than likely do something like that (boxing),” Ngannou said. He added, “If you’ve been on social media, you might know by now that yes, it’s something that interests me. Because even on social media, I was down for it. I’m definitely down for it with not only Tyson Fury, but other fighters like Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua. I’m down for those.”
Ngannou is referring to the back and forth between him and Fury earlier this month.
How about MMA rules with boxing gloves? I can do you that favor. https://t.co/NpCMOQ3DDu
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) January 6, 2022
It should also be noted that Ngannou said he did want one boxing match to be a part of his UFC contract if he renewed with them. It’s not something the UFC has never done before.
It’s a strange time in combat sports. Since 2017 when Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor showed that competitors from boxing and MMA can feature an event (co-pomoted by the UFC) under boxing rules to somehow prove one is better than the other is a profitable venture. After that we have seen Triller Fight Club put on matches like these and Jake Paul and SHOWTIME have had success with these types of boxing matches too. So, if this is the route Ngannou does go, it might be a sign of the combat sports times that rankings and rules are changing.
