Francis Ngannou wants MMA fight with boxing gloves against Tyson Fury

Francis Ngannou has called for a MMA bout against Tyson Fury, with the added caveat that they would wear boxing gloves instead of the typical 4oz MMA gloves.

Ngannou's comments come in response to Tyson Fury's recent Twitter post. In it, he suggested the two men face off in a boxing match with MMA gloves. Francis Ngannou stated the following:

"How about MMA rules with boxing gloves? I can do you that favor."

It seems very unlikely that Tyson Fury would accept such conditions. Furthermore, Francis Ngannou has repeatedly reiterated his desire to cross over to the realm of boxing at some point before his combat sports career is over.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour in 2021, Ngannou had the following to say about a move to boxing:

"Well, it [MMA] is more difficult [than boxing]. I feel I should not be needing to borrow money for my training camp. At some point, I'm gonna go after those money. I'm gonna go to that boxing for sure... I'm not challenging the system, I'm just saying my right."

Check out the full interview with Francis Ngannou below:

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Is it feasible for combat sports to imagine Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury in 2022?

MMA and boxing crossovers are very rare occurrences, despite fighters from both sports routinely calling each other out. it has, interestingly, become increasingly common as of late for retired MMA fighters to make the cross over to boxing.

Anderson Silva, Frank Mir, Junior dos Santos and many more have made the switch over the past few years. However, it is hard to recall a fighter other than Conor McGregor making the switch whilst still being in the prime of their career.

It is possible that 'The Predator' will leave UFC 270 as a free agent. There have been recent contract negotiation issues between Francis Ngannou and the UFC. Furthermore, the heavyweight champ only has one fight left on his current deal.