Francis Ngannou sat ringside last weekend when Tyson Fury and Otto Wallin faced off. The UFC heavyweight contender has his sights set on a rematch with the current champion, Stipe Miocic but would welcome a chance to test his punching power against the likes of Fury. It would not be the first time the UFC and an active fighter on their roster would venture into boxing.
“That might happen in the future,” Ngannou told MMA Junkie, but obviously, with Miocic as champion again he would rather stay on track in his own sport. Ngannou added, “I’m not turning down any challenge. Let’s see what happens in the UFC first. That’s what I’m looking forward to.” Before Miocic lost the title to Daniel Cormier during his first title run, he had derailed the path Ngannou was on by handing the Nigerian his second professional loss in MMA at UFC 220.
Another loss would come after that to Derrick Lewis before Ngannou would get back on track to rack up three first-round victories in a row to put his name back in the UFC heavyweight contender conversation. Ngannou is currently ranked at number two in the UFC heavyweight rankings, putting himself in line with a chance to avenge his loss to Miocic.
While a boxing match against Fury would certainly make for an interesting match of raw power versus boxing skill, Ngannou seems more interested in Miocic than entertaining any cross-promotional boxing matches with the likes of the Mayweather vs. McGregor event of 2017.
As far as him facing Miocic again Ngannou said, “After my last fight, Dana White said we’re going to see how it plays out between ‘DC’ and Stipe.” With Miocic coming out as the victor at UFC 241, Ngannou thinks the rematch can be booked before the end of the year.
How do you think Ngannou would do against Fury?
