"The UFC can make it bigger" - Francis Ngannou reveals why he wants Tyson Fury fight under the UFC banner
UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has outlined his plans regarding a potential fight against boxing heavyweight great Tyson Fury. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Ngannou suggested that he’d like to sign a new contract with the UFC. Ngannou believes that the Fury matchup will be more prominent with the UFC co-promoting it.
Helwani alluded that Ngannou has no fights left on his current UFC contract, and the contract will expire this December. He pointed out that ‘The Predator’ could fight Fury in 2023 without the UFC onboard.
Ngannou, however, explained why he wants the UFC involved:
“Well, I think the UFC is a great promotion, and I want to keep fighting. Tyson Fury is not my last fight. I want to keep fighting. After Tyson Fury, there’s still a lot of fight out there. There’s still Jon Jones, there’s Stipe [Miocic]; a trilogy with Stipe, that’s a big fight I can do in the UFC. And I would really like that to happen. I would really like us to get to a common point. Yes, I can do Tyson Fury on my own, but what next? I would like to keep fighting. I would like for us to come to a agreement.”
Ngannou emphasized that for him to re-sign with the UFC, they need to have “a good understanding of this situation." Helwani then noted that Ngannou indicated that he’d ideally want to reach an agreement with the UFC and have them co-promote his fight against Fury.
Helwani added that Ngannou later plans to return to defend his UFC heavyweight title irrespective of what happens in the Fury fight. Ngannou concurred and said:
“Yeah, because I believe that they can make it – Doesn’t matter how big it could be, the UFC can make it bigger.”
Watch Francis Ngannou’s conversation with Ariel Helwani in the video below:
Francis Ngannou foresees the Tyson Fury fight coming to fruition in 2023
Following his cordial in-ring face-off against Tyson Fury after the latter’s win over Dillian Whyte in London on Saturday, Francis Ngannou discussed a possible Fury fight. Speaking to BT Sport UFC, Ngannou opined that his hybrid-rules fight with Fury will materialize in 2023.
Furthermore, Ngannou, who hails from Cameroon, Africa, expressed his desire to fight Fury on that continent. ‘The Predator’ said:
"Definitely sometime next year, 2023. That fight will happen because, by the end of this year, we're gonna sort it out and get settled, ready to go... Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou in Africa, that would be the best one. Rumble in the Jungle 2."