UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou isn't known for his wrestling abilities, but Dana White thinks his inability to use it in a crossover fight with Tyson Fury puts him at a disadvantage.
Ngannou has been pushing for a fight with boxing star Fury since last year. 'The Predator' is out of contract with the UFC and will only sign a new deal if the promotion put a clause in his contract that allows him to box 'The Gypsy King'.
Fury announced his retirement from boxing after knocking out Dillian Whyte last month to defend his heavyweight title. Ngannou was in attendance and stepped into the ring with Fury after his win to tease a 'hybrid-rules' fight down the line.
When asked how a fight between Ngannou and Fury would go, White pointed out that the UFC star wouldn't be able to take Fury down. "How did the Ciryl Gane fight go? Guess what he can't use against Fury [his wrestling]," he told Yahoo Sports.
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Ngannou won a decision for the first time in his MMA career against Gane at UFC 271 in January. He was forced to wrestle Gane for most of the fight after suffering torn knee ligaments during his preparations that almost forced him to withdraw from the title fight.
The Cameroonian has since undergone successful knee surgery for his injuries but will be unable to compete for the rest of this year. He will be free to leave the UFC in December when his contract officially expires, making a crossover fight with Fury for 2023 seem possible.
It's unclear what the 'hybrid-ruleset' for the potential crossover fight will be, but legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas thinks Ngannou should be allowed to pick up Fury at certain points in the fight.
"My estimation, at least give them one minute of one round where [Ngannou] is allowed to grab him and pick him up in the air over his shoulders," he said on his podcast The Fight. "Francis might be able to do it. As big as he is, he might be up there if Rocky can pick up Hulk Hogan, I think Francis can pick up Fury."
"To me that has to happen because of the money involved and it's going to take on another domain, a whole other realm. You've got Ngannou a big, massive strong man who can punch like hell against the heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, it's a monster movie but it's not fair."
