UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has hinted that he could fight Tyson Fury in the UFC in a hybrid bout in 2023 with the two eager to face each other. Ngannou entered the ring with Fury on Saturday after his stunning knockout win over Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium ahead of their potential meeting in 2023.
Both Fury and Ngannou have stated that they plan on fighting each other next year in what would be the two top heavyweights in boxing and the UFC going head-to-head.
Fury confirmed after defeating Whyte that he plans to retire from professional boxing, but did not rule out bouts in other organisations and mentioned fighting Ngannou specifically on numerous occasions.
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And speaking on Monday, Ngannou told reporter Ariel Helwani that he will ask for a fight with Fury as part of his contract renegotiations with the UFC. The Cameroonian is set to become a free agent at the end of the year, with him currently being ruled out until 2023 after undergoing major knee surgery.
Ngannou told Helwani: "The Tyson Fury fight has to be part of the discussion. That’s not an option. It has to be part of the discussion because if that’s not part of the discussion, it will never be. If I sign another contract now, basically the same model of the contract, I’m screwed. That’s not happening ever. So we have to figure out a way to implement this into a contract.
"We both want this fight, that's clear, and we respect each other. Probably next year it will happen. I think it's going to happen, it's just a matter of our promotions, but we will sort this out at some point. Make it a hybrid fight, something that makes it a little uncomfortable for him as a boxer. Ideas like MMA gloves or fighting barefoot. I don't know, we still have to figure this out.
"I think the UFC is a good promotion, and I want to keep fighting. The Tyson Fury is not my last fight. I want to keep fighting. After Tyson Fury there’s still a lot of fights. There’s the Jon Jones, there’s the Stipe trilogy."
With that being said, could the fight be in the UFC, or would President of the company Dana White let Ngannou fight outside of the promotion?
White has done so once before, when Conor McGregor fought Floyd Mayweather Jr shown on Showtime, with the UFC also having access to promote on their online platforms.
