Francis Ngannou details how impromptu promotion of fight with Tyson Fury in the ring after his fight came about.
Francis Ngannou uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, where he explained how he ended up in the ring with Fury following a successful title defense against Dillian Whyte.
He described how he was brought into the ring and what the intended goal of the callout was, saying:
“They get me to the fight because there was a pretty good talk back and forth between Tyson (Fury) and I at that time for a potential boxing match…After the fight, I think he noticed that I was there and called me in the ring. We kind of like spoke about it respectfully…But we found it very interesting to step there and figure it out you know, put some show.”
‘The Predator’ fought out his contract at UFC 270, where he retained his UFC heavyweight championship after earning a unanimous decision against Ciryl Gane. He also mentioned that he was invited by GymShark, who is his sponsor in the UK, and described what the stadium atmosphere for Fury-Whyte:
“Walking in, I had the biggest view of the whole arena. When I was sitting, I was ringside so I didn’t have a wide view of the arena. But walking in, you could see the arena and at the moment that Tyson (Fury) was walking out and you are like, ‘Damn.’ With all the lights, it was insane.”
Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury have both been open to the idea of possibly boxing each other as it would see two of the top heavyweights in combat sports competing against each other.
Check out the full video:
Could Francis Ngannou be the first fighter to finish Jon Jones in the UFC
According to reports, the UFC is planning to book Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones in March. The bout would mark ‘The Predator’s first title defense since UFC 270, while Jones would be competing for the first time since UFC 247 in 2020.
‘Bones’ is coming off a controversial unanimous decision win against Dominick Reyes. He later relinquished his light heavyweight championship and committed to a move to heavyweight for the first time in his career. He has taken the time to get comfortable training with his larger frame and has done so with former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo.
Although Jones is clearly the more well-rounded fighter, Ngannou has devastating knockout power and is capable of finishing the former light heavyweight champion for the first time in his MMA career.