Francis Ngannou responds to Tyson Fury's hybrid-rule boxing match call-out

Francis Ngannou has accepted Tyson Fury's offer for a hybrid-rule boxing match.

'The Predator' fought out his UFC contract with a decision victory over Ciryl Gane last January. Prior to the contest, Ngannou reportedly damaged his knees but fought valiantly despite several torn ligaments.

Due to the injury, the former UFC heavyweight champion has been on the sidelines for over a year. The majority of that time was spent in discussions with the company for a possible return to the octagon, likely against Jon Jones.

However, the two sides were unable to come to an agreement, and the MMA fighter was stripped of his heavyweight gold earlier this month. Following that, Ngannou called to face Tyson Fury.

'The Gypsy King' and Francis Ngannou have long teased that they could clash one day. In response to the former UFC champion stating he'd be interested in boxing him, Fury also expressed interest and said they should fight in a mixed-rules bout.

That sort of thing interests the former UFC star. In a recent interview with Canal +, Ngannou stated:

"The next step could be that but once again, we have to finalize everything. I remind you that Tyson Fury and I have been warming up on social networks for more than two years."

See his comments below:

🚨💣 NGANNOU EST CHAUD POUR AFFRONTER FURY !!

🗣💬 "Ça fait plus de deux ans que Tyson Fury et moi on se chauffe sur les réseaux sociaux. Aujourd’hui on a la possibilité de mettre les points sur les "i"."

(🎙 via @cplussportafr) https://t.co/w5iObOIZgl

Misfits Boxing shows interest in Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou might be interested in boxing Tyson Fury, but it likely won't happen next.

'The Gypsy King' is currently in the final stages of scheduling a heavyweight unification fight with Oleksandr Usyk. While the matchup is yet to be announced, it's expected to land in Saudi Arabia in March.

The WBC Heavyweight Champion noted that he would like to box 'The Predator' if things fell through with Usyk. Given that the two men's management has stated that the bout was verbally agreed upon, that's unlikely to happen.

Luckily for Francis Ngannou, he's a popular guy and has a lot of interest in both MMA and boxing. Misfits Boxing's Kalle Sauerland recently stated that they've begun discussions with the fighter's management.

He also proposed a potential clash with Derek Chisora. In the interview, Sauerland stated:

“I’d love to sign him, I think he’d fit perfectly in with our crossover stuff with Misfits. We can build him on there, bring over Derek Chisora, a big fight like that you know? There’s a lot of good fights for him. I think Mams [Taylor] is speaking to their people. I’m sure a lot of people are speaking to their people, but I think we can offer him something unique."

.@SauerlandBros reveals @MamsTaylor is in talks with Francis Ngannou's team 👀

Sauerland sees a potential fight between Ngannou and Derek Chisora on a Misfits card 😳 (via @ProBoxingFans) https://t.co/zGCNsep2PK