Now that “The Predator” has been declared a free agent by the UFC, Francis Ngannou may finally realise his ambition of fighting in the ring. Tyson Fury, the heavyweight boxing champion, has long been the target of Ngannou’s pursuit.
Dana White said earlier this week that negotiations with Ngannou had failed and that Jon Jones would return to the cage to face Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title during the UFC Vegas 67 post-fight news conference.
Francis Ngannou is free to bargain with other MMA and boxing promoters because the UFC relinquished its exclusive negotiating window and there is no price-matching requirement.
The main issue in Ngannou’s contract negotiations with the UFC was his desire to have the boxing match included in his new deal. The claims of the Cameroonian were rejected by the UFC.
Josh Thompson and John McCarthy responded to the entire series of events and thought about Francis Ngannou’s options outside of the UFC. In the most recent WEIGHING IN podcast, McCarthy openly asserted that Ngannou would be outboxed by Fury:
He will fall short. Just being sincere here. Everyone is sitting there saying, “He hits the hardest,” which makes me love Francis. Deontay Wilder strikes like a f**king truck, you see. No issues will arise for Fury. Francis will be outboxed by him. Francis’ night is not going to be nice.
McCarthy said that he comprehends Ngannou’s tenacious pursuit of a matchup with Fury given that it may represent the largest paycheck of his professional career.
John McCarthy offers the following remarks at 57:15:
Francis Ngannou has been warned by Tony Bellew about pursuing his boxing ambitions
Former world cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew has advised Francis Ngannou against switching to boxing. Ngannou’s heavyweight championship in the UFC was revoked because he was unable to reach a new deal with the company.
Last year, Francis Ngannou talked about the possibility of a boxing matchup with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. He saw Fury’s knockout victory over Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium in London in April 2022 from the stands.Fury and Ngannou exchanged handshakes inside the square circle as they talked about the potential for a mixed-sport boxing match.
Below a poll created by MMA reporter Ariel Helwani to discuss Ngannou’s next move, boxer-turned-analyst Tony Bellew wrote:
Tony Bellew, a former boxer turned analyst, submitted the following below a poll made by MMA reporter Ariel Helwani to debate Ngannou’s upcoming move:
“awfully shameful He can’t hold his own in a fight with a notable opponent. Currently, he is the finest heavyweight in MMA, therefore he must maintain his composure.”