Francis Ngannou On Boxing Call Outs And UFC 252 Plans
Francis Ngannou is primed and ready to face a list of opponents who have called him out in recent months. The UFC heavyweight contender, who is coming off a devastating knockout of Jared Rozenstruik at UFC 249, has become the target of boxers such as Dillian Whyte and Tyson Fury. The 33 year old has been frustrated by the current state of the heavyweight division in his own sport however, following a long break in competition by the current champion, Stipe Miocic.
Ngannou Went ‘Berserk’ At Whyte
Talks for a fight with Whyte gained traction after the British boxer claimed that Ngannou had been dropped by Joe Joyce during a sparring session. Promoter Eddie Hearn jumped on the hype and hosted a press conference between the two, in-which ‘The Predator’ apparently went berserk when Whyte taunted him with these claims.
Unfortunately, UFC president Dana White was not informed of the conference and blocked its publication. In an interview with iFLTV (transcribed by The Mac Life), Ngannou assured fans that Dillian Whyte’s accusations are false.
“I didn’t know the guy but as much as I can tell about him, you can’t take his word for credit. That’s something for sure. The only thing I trust in Dillian Whyte is his fighting skills because you see that in the [ring], but everything that came out of his mouth isn’t worth nothing.”
A Gypsy King In The Octagon?
Tyson Fury has expressed an interest in MMA and has gone back-and-forth with Ngannou on social media over the past nine months. And the UFC star insists that he’d be happy to welcome ‘The Gypsy King’ into his domain.
“Me and Tyson Fury have been back and forth for a little while,” Ngannou said. “Lately we haven’t talked about it anymore, but he also mentioned the idea of coming to MMA and fighting me somehow. Then I agreed a challenge, I offered to return him the favour in the ring, because I’m gonna beat him up in the Octagon. He seemed serious because at some point he went and posted some video of him training with Darren Till to get ready for his MMA career but I don’t know.
Ultimately, Ngannou just wants to do what he was born to do. Even if that means exploring new avenues within the combat sports world.
“I’m here. If they don’t come, I will go find them.”
Since losing back-to-back fights to Miocic and Derrick Lewis, Ngannou has scored four straight first round finishes to put himself back in line for a shot at UFC gold. Stipe will aim to defend his belt against Daniel Cormier at UFC 252 on August 15th but if either fighter drops out, Dana White confirmed on The Shmozone podcast that the Parisian knockout artist will be the company’s first choice replacement.
“We’ve talked to [Ngannou] about that. I don’t know where we are on those talks, but yeah, obviously if one of those guys fell out, we’d be looking to put Francis in there.”
Who would you like to see Francis Ngannou fight night next?
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