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Ariel Helwani has provided a detailed update on Francis Ngannou’s negotiations with the UFC.
Ngannou, the UFC heavyweight champion, last fought in January, where he surprisingly wrestled his way to victory against Ciryl Gane. Since then, ‘The Predator’ has been recovering from knee surgery while also settling a contract dispute with the UFC.
During an episode of The MMA Hour, combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani was asked for an update on the heavyweight champion’s future. He had this to say:
“Francis is about to become a free agent, but I’m hearing that talks are actually pretty good. You know you saw Eric Nicksick, his coach, reference March 4th. I’ve been saying this since, how long have I been saying, if they couldn’t get a fight in December for [Jon] Jones, the March early pay-per-view is when they were going to try and do Jones vs. Ngannou."
Ariel Helwani continued by saying:
"The newish stuff is that he’s no longer, Francis, represented by CAA. That opens the door to Endeavor wanting to do business. They will do business, and as I’ve said, I think they figure it out, and I think he signs, and I think they try to make that fight, March 4th.”
‘The Predator’ has been closely tied to rumors revolving around Jon Jones’ heavyweight debut. Now that Stipe Miocic seems to be out of the equation, Ngannou vs. Jones is the fight to make. Since the next three PPVs have a main event, UFC 285 on March 4 in Las Vegas is a likely destination for the heavyweight showdown.
Watch Ariel Helwani discuss Francis Ngannou below:
Ariel Helwani believes Tyson Fury has moved on from boxing Francis Ngannou
Tyson Fury returns to the boxing ring against Derek Chisora on December 3. The last time Fury fought, he defeated Dillian Whyte in March. He then proceeded to discuss a potential hybrid boxing match with Francis Ngannou during a post-fight celebration in the ring.
During the same episode of The MMA Hour, Ariel Helwani had this to say about 'The Predator' vs. 'The Gypsy King' being unlikely:
“There’s no Fury fight out there. Unless Fury gets on the mic Saturday after beating Chisora for the third time, which we all expect is going to happen, and says, ‘Francis, where you at?’. It doesn’t seem like Fury’s into that anymore. Right? He has this change of heart. He wants to fight. He wants big fights. He wants to keep going.”
Ngannou’s recent success with UFC negotiations makes a hybrid boxing match unlikely. ‘The Predator’ and Fury seem to be re-motivated towards dominating their respective sports after some time off.
