Francis Ngannou

When MMA star Francis Ngannou makes his professional boxing debut against undefeated lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he will have the backing of one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.

Ngannou announced Thursday in a press release that Hall of Fame boxer Mike Tyson will train him and be in his corner for the massive crossover fight.

The fight is being billed as a battle for the title of "The Baddest Man on the Planet," which is fitting since it has long been one of Tyson's most famous nicknames.

Regarding his decision to serve as Ngannou's trainer, the 57-year-old Tyson said:

"It is no secret I back Ngannou 100 percent in this face-off of champions. He has one hard punch, and when it lands, it's game over. I am looking forward to working with Ngannou and supporting his transition from the Octagon to the boxing ring.

"He isn't a combat novice; he is a world champion. He knows how to compete when the bell rings, but the key will be combining his energy and combat skills into his punches and using his agility to move swiftly around the ring then delivering the knock-out blow. We're here to win."

Ngannou also commented on teaming up with the former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion who went 50-6 in his career, saying:

"Bringing Mike Tyson into my training camp is one of the best decisions I can make to prepare for Tyson Fury in the ring at this year's Riyadh Season. Mike Tyson is an idol of mine in the sport. His experience and boxing IQ will be important to honing my technique under his guidance to win this super-fight.

"I've been wanting this fight for years and now that it's here, I'm focused on fighting the greatest fight of my career and shocking the world on the most epic stage for the fans in Riyadh. October 28th, the world will know who's the Baddest Man on The Planet."

Per TMZ Sports, Tyson previously showed Ngannou how to hit Fury with a devastating body shot on his Hotboxin' podcast, and Ngannou told TMZ last month, "I think getting some advice or some training from Mike Tyson would be good."

Ngannou has never had a pro boxing fight, but he has been hugely successful in the world of combat sports, going 17-3 with 12 knockouts in MMA.

The 36-year-old Ngannou left the UFC in January as the reigning UFC heavyweight champion due to a contract dispute, and he has won each of his past six fights.

While the 6'4" Ngannou is impressive physically, the 6'9" Fury will tower over him and could present a significant matchup problem.

That has been the case for Fury throughout his career, as he is the reigning WBC heavyweight champion and has gone 33-0-1 in his boxing career with 24 wins by way of knockout.

At just 5'10", Tyson was small for a heavyweight, but he overcame that deficiency to become one of the best ever, and he can pass some of that knowledge along to Ngannou.

A highly anticipated heavyweight showdown is set to go down this fall.

According to a release issued Tuesday, a boxing match between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has been scheduled for Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The fight will take place "in a regulation boxing ring under the standard boxing rules."

ESPN's Mike Coppinger first reported the fight had been agreed to. MMA journalist Ariel Helwani initially reported on Friday that a fight between Fury and Ngannou was "expected to be announced very soon."

It sounds like Ngannou and his camp are excited about getting the fight agreement done:

After his contract with UFC came to an end earlier this year, Ngannou signed a lucrative deal with the PFL in May that allowed him to also pursue boxing fights. He said during an interview with The DAZN MMA Show that "if it was up to him" his next fight would be a boxing match against Fury or Deontay Wilder.

Ngannou hasn't fought since January 2022 when he retained his heavyweight title with a unanimous-decision win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. He underwent knee surgery following that fight and his UFC contract expired this January.

Upon his departure from the UFC, Ngannou was called out by Fury for a fight that would feature a mixed ruleset between boxing and MMA. The two of them have been circling each other for months, and now they will finally get to settle their differences. While the details of their fight deals have not been revealed, it can be expected that they both will receive a significant paycheck.

"We've had a lot of offers from the Middle East at the moment to host that fight over the summer," Fury recently said on the Out of Interest podcast (h/t Anton Tabuena of Bloody Elbow). "[The purse is] private information, but let's say it's 10, 20, 30, f--king 50 times the amount [UFC fighters make]."

A fight between Fury and Ngannou is sure to draw a ton of interest and excitement from fight fans. Ngannou is known for his devastating knockouts in MMA, while Fury is arguably the most skilled heavyweight boxer because of his elusiveness and accuracy. It will be interesting to see how things play out when they meet in the ring.

What promises to be a highly anticipated match between boxer Tyson Fury and MMA fighter Francis Ngannou may be happening in the near future.

On Friday, combat sports insider Ariel Helwani reported such a fight "is expected to be announced very soon."

Ngannou has discussed facing Fury for years, and the latter revealed during an appearance on the Out of Interest podcast (h/t Ryan Harkness of MMA Mania) that the MMA fighter was willing to step into the boxing ring.

"Yes, Francis Ngannou," Fury said when asked if any MMA fighters were willing to face him in a boxing match.

"There's been a lot of talk of me and Ngannou fighting each other, and he wants to come to boxing, he wanted to fight me," he continued. "He's been talking a lot of stuff on Instagram, wants to fight. Was even at one of my last fights. Got in the ring, confronted me. There's potential, potential. We've had a lot of offers come in from the Middle East at the moment to host that fight this summer."

Ngannou told TMZ Sports in January he has been in contact with Fury's representatives.

The idea of the two stars fighting picked up plenty of steam after Fury defeated Dillian Whyte in April 2022. Ngannou joined the victor in the ring, and they gave a joint interview discussing a matchup that would have hybrid rules with boxing and MMA elements:

Going up against Fury, 34, would be quite the task for the 36-year-old.

Fury is 33-0-1 with 24 knockouts in his illustrious boxing career. His most recent win came over Derek Chisora in December, and most of his victories come in rather dominant fashion.

Ngannou is no stranger to dominance and went 17-3 while fighting in UFC from 2015 to 2022. He defeated Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title in March 2021 and then defended it against Cyril Gane in January 2022.

But finding a way to defeat Fury would be a different type of challenge.

PFL heavyweight Francis Ngannou believes Jon Jones might have his hands full against Stipe Miocic if the pair ever face off in the Octagon.

"It's gonna be tough for Jones," Ngannou told TMZ Sports. "I think we all don't give the credit that is due to Stipe. Stipe is not having enough credit. For me, he's still the guy at heavyweight. He's still the most challenging guy in the heavyweight division."

Ngannou is speaking from experience after having split his two fights with Miocic.

Jones and Miocic engaged in a war of words in the spring following the former's first-round submission of Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. By April, ESPN's Marc Raimondi reported that was a matchup "all parties want next" but cautioned negotiations could drag on for a while.

The UFC has yet to formalize any plans for Jones vs. Miocic, with former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier expressing his concern the encounter may never happen.

Jones is widely considered one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters ever, while Miocic stacks up well against the best heavyweights to step inside the cage.

Although Jones prevailed in his heavyweight debut, Miocic would probably pose the biggest challenge he has faced in his legendary career despite the 40-year-old's lengthy layoff. He hasn't fought since getting knocked out by Ngannou at UFC 260 in 2021 but has a record of 20-4 with 15 knockouts.

Francis Ngannou suggested Thursday that UFC does not want him and Jon Jones to face each other in a cross-promotion fight.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, Ngannou said he thinks the fight is "possible" in the interest of giving "the fans what they want," but he also mentioned a clear barrier standing in their way:

"All the parties are down except for one," he said, in apparent reference to UFC.

Ngannou was the UFC heavyweight champion before vacating the title when he and the promotion could not come to terms on a new contract. He subsequently signed with PFL.

Jones, who is a former UFC light heavyweight champion, moved up to heavyweight and beat Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight title in his first fight in that weight class.

Last week, Jones and Ngannou had a face-to-face confrontation at a PFL event in Atlanta, sparking speculation about a fight between them once again:

While Jones vs. Ngannou is the heavyweight bout most MMA fans want to see, UFC's stance against cross-promotion fights is a huge obstacle.

Before leaving UFC, the 36-year-old Ngannou was a dominant force, going 17-3 with 12 knockouts in his MMA career.

After losing back-to-back fights to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis in 2018, the Nigerian star went on an absolute tear, winning each of his final six UFC fights before departing.

In his second-to-last fight, Ngannou won a rematch against Miocic to become UFC heavyweight champion for the first time. He then beat Gane on his way out of the promotion.

There had been speculation about a Ngannou vs. Jones fight before Ngannou left UFC, but when it never came to fruition, Jones moved up to heavyweight anyway and dominated Gane to win the title.

When asked by TMZ how he feels a fight against Jones would go, Ngannou suggested he matches up better with the current bulkier version of Jones than he may have when Jones was lighter and faster at light heavyweight:

"I will say I am more comfortable with a heavy Jon Jones than the Jon Jones of light heavyweight because of course, he gave an impressive performance against Ciryl Gane, but for the first minute, the first interaction and striking, he didn't look good.

"He wasn't on point, as sharp as in light heavyweight, and for me that's the best—I want Jon heavy! I want him heavier if he can put on more size."

Of course, Ngannou's desire to fight a heavier Jones won't matter if they are unable to find a way to step inside the cage against each other.

UFC is typically stringent when it comes to keeping things in house and not involving other MMA promotions, so unless Jones and Ngannou end up in the same company in the future, their bout may simply be a pipe dream.

Francis Ngannou responded to critical comments from UFC president Dana White after he secured his return to mixed martial arts with the Professional Fighters League.

During his press conference after UFC Vegas 73 ended, White told reporters that Ngannou's PFL contract "makes no sense to me." He also said the former UFC heavyweight champion "wants to take zero risks" and "doesn't want to take any chances."

Those comments caught the attention of Ngannou, who said he's "finally getting paid and respected":

According to Bloody Elbow's John S. Nash, Ngannou is signed on for potentially two or three fights with the PFL and will collect a "high seven-figure" purse for each bout. He also received a number of incentives, including a split of the profits from his events a chairman title for the PFL's eventual expansion into Africa.

Ngannou took a bit of a risk by leaving the UFC and setting such high demands for any interested suitors. The bet paid off both figuratively and literally as the PFL appear to have given him everything he wanted.

White's criticism of the situation is puzzling to say the least.

Any athlete in combat sport has a clear incentive to get as much guaranteed money as possible. Not to mention, Ngannou is among the many UFC fighters who have probably failed to receive their true worth thanks to the company's pay structure. It stands to reason he'd want to make up the difference in some form.

This isn't really the UFC or White's concern anyway because they aren't the ones signing Ngannou's checks now. They might have some skin in the game if some of the 36-year-old does provide some inspiration to his former peers, though.

If Ngannou proves to be a wise investment for the PFL, then it stands to reason the promotion could be even more aggressive in splashing the cash for marquee names. Because a rising tide lifts all boats, there could be a domino effect as well if fighters under the UFC banner are emboldened to mirror his previously firm stance in contract negotiations.

Dana White is not impressed with Francis Ngannou's historic PFL contract.

The UFC president ripped Ngannou and the PFL for the deal, which provides the former UFC heavyweight champion equity in the company and a seat on its board of directors. Ngannou was also able to guarantee his opponents at least $2 million per fight.

"Based on what I know about the deal, which is not much, it makes no sense to me," White told reporters Saturday. "You're going to pay a guy not to fight for a year, and it's already been like [14] months. He's fought three times in the last three years.

"It's just not what we do here. It's not what we do. And the day that we released him, I knew exactly what was going to happen. Francis wants to take zero risks, doesn't want to take any chances, and he obviously didn't want to take a chance with Jon Jones — and after we saw what happened with Ciryl Gane, I don't blame him. I think the outcome would've been exactly the same, and I'm sure most of you do and I'm sure Francis does too."

Ngannou will not debut in the PFL until next year as he pursues his professional boxing debut later in 2023. The 36-year-old is yet to have a date set or an opponent for his foray into boxing, but he's set his sights on the likes of Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder.

White ripped into Ngannou's attempt at becoming a boxer, saying it's a "gimmick" fight and indicating he does not feel there's a Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather level of interest in seeing him make his boxing debut.

"PFL is going to pay this guy to train for a boxing match that may not even happen and that they might not even be involved in. How does that make any sense?" White said. "It doesn't make sense to me. Anthony Joshua called it a gimmick fight this week. When asked about that fight, he's like, 'I'm focused on fighting the best guys in the world. I'm not interested in a gimmick fight right now.' And that's one of the big problems with boxing right now, is it's all about these gimmicky type fights, and that's just not what I do here. It's not what I do."

Ngannou left UFC in January as the reigning heavyweight champion, becoming the first title holder to depart since BJ Penn in 2004. It's clear based on his comments there's still some hard feelings from White's direction.