.png)
Francis Ngannou, former UFC heavyweight champion, has recently sparked excitement amongst combat sports fans after agreeing to Tyson Fury's request for a mixed-rules bout. Ngannou, affectionately known as ‘The Predator’, left the UFC last month due to a failed agreement on a new contract and was stripped of his heavyweight title. Although Ngannou stated that a return to the UFC is not out of the question in the future, he is currently focusing on a boxing match in July.
Tyson Fury, the WBC heavyweight champion, has been inactive since his knockout win over Derek Chisora in December and is currently in talks for a title unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk later this year. However, in the event the fight doesn't happen, Fury had another idea up his sleeve. He recently offered Ngannou a mixed-rules bout, where the two could fight in a cage with four-ounce gloves, under Queensberry rules. Fury even went as far as suggesting the possibility of having Mike Tyson as a special guest referee.
Ngannou was quick to show his agreement to Fury's requests, taking to Twitter and checking off all of Fury's conditions while asking if there were any more requests. He signed off the tweet as the “baddest man on the planet”, leaving fans eagerly anticipating a potential showdown between the two heavyweight champions.
Despite the excitement surrounding a potential bout with Fury, Ngannou has other options on the table. Both Misfits Boxing and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing have revealed they are currently in talks with the former UFC heavyweight champion. It remains to be seen who Ngannou will face next, but one thing is certain, fans of both boxing and mixed martial arts are eagerly awaiting his next move.