Tyson Fury insists he would fight UFC star Francis Ngannou in the cage - but only in a boxing match
Tyson Fury has categorically ruled out ever having an MMA fight – but insisted he would fight Francis Ngannou in the cage with boxing rules in place.
The world heavyweight champion has teased a potential crossover to MMA in recent months after vowing to ‘roast’ UFC star Ngannou.
Fury, who is preparing to make the first defence of his WBC strap against Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas next month, has been exchanging verbals with the UFC’s heavyweight champion Ngannou.
Tyson Fury admitted to ex-UFC champion Michael Bisping he has no interest in an MMA fight
Fury (left) did however insist he’d fight Francis Ngannou (right) in a boxing match in the cage
The Gypsy King provoked a response from Ngannou when he said he would be ‘easy work’ after he had dealt with Anthony Joshua.
Ngannou, who’s primary dream was to become a boxer before he focused on a career in MMA, called out Fury back in April and taunted him over the wounds he sustained in the Otto Wallin fight after he needed 47 stitches to sew up his damaged eye.
Fury was recently seen wrestling with ex-UFC fighter Nick Diaz in the octagon in Miami, sparking rumours he might have an eye on making a switch to MMA. But he has now admitted that is not part of his plans.
When asked if that was something he wanted to tick off by former UFC champion Michael Bisping, Fury told BT Sport: ‘What me going into an MMA fight? No, no. Yeah I’d fight one of those guys, I’d fight Ngannou with the little gloves on in a cage, but with no grappling and all that, just boxing.
‘Cage boxing. That will be good won’t it. I’d fight these guys but you know yourself it’s a totally different sport. It’s like tennis and cricket.
‘They’ve both got bats or rackets but it’s a totally different thing. If I fight Ngannou in a wrestling match, I’m not a wrestler so I’m just going to get took down to the floor like James Toney and smashed to pieces.
The Gypsy King started a rivalry with Ngannou by saying he’d ‘roast’ him in a fight
Ngannou responded with an image of Fury badly cut from his gruelling battle with Otto Wallin
‘He wrestles more than me anyway. In a boxing fight, it’s the same with him and me isn’t it. But if you get a cross sort of in the middle somewhere and you’ve got the small gloves on in the cage, I don’t even know what that means, but anyway we’re going to bang it out.’
Fury has also previously trained with Liverpudlian middleweight Darren Till in recent years and said back in 2019 he would consider a move to the UFC once he has achieved everything he wants to in boxing.
‘I’ve not spoken to [UFC president] Dana White,’ he said via talkSPORT. ‘To be honest with you, I’ve got bigger fish to fry than going in an octagon at the moment and fighting some UFC fighters for peanuts.
‘I’m fighting the biggest fights in the world. World boxing is the biggest fights.
‘When I get my boxing career finished, I’m gonna go over there and set about all those UFC fighters.’
The Gypsy King won a hard-earned decision victory over the Swede in their gruesome fight
Ngannou, 34, said earlier this year he would ‘absolutely’ be open to fighting Fury one day
Knockout artist Ngannou holds ambitions to compete in the boxing ring during his career
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
ncG1vNJzZmhqZGy7psPSmqmorZ6Zwamx1qippZxemLyue9OvqqGnp5e2u3vYqKytrZKav26t1KyroqZdorCjvs6opGaopaK6prjSZquio6SkuKa%2BjJupspuVYrWiuMtmoKdlkqTFqrrGZqSarJOdeqPB02ZoZqWZoXqjsdNmoKdloaqytMDIqKVo