Ideally, Francis Ngannou would like to rematch Tyson Fury next.
After taking Fury to a split decision in their crossover boxing match this past Saturday in Saudi Arabia, Ngannou wants to avenge his loss. The former UFC heavyweight champion, who knocked down Fury in Round 3, thought he won the fight.
Ngannou is currently signed with PFL and does plan on stepping inside the cage at some point next year. However, he’d rather run things back with Fury first.
“The rematch is what I want next the most,” Ngannou told TMZ. “As for right now, I feel like there is a lot of options for me, but I want to choose wisely, and I would go for the rematch first.”
Fury is expected to face Oleksandr Usyk next, which was already in the works before the Fury-Ngannou fight even happened. Their undisputed heavyweight title fight will reportedly happen in February, but Ngannou hopes he can somehow meet Fury again before that.
“My best scenario in boxing is to wait for Fury,” Ngannou said. “If Usyk can step out and let me fight Fury, I’ll fight Fury. Then I’ll let them do whatever they do. I’ll go back, maybe do some MMA fight and come back and take some people in boxing. I’m planning to fight potentially twice next year, maybe February or March.”
If Ngannou doesn’t get his desired rematch right away, he’s willing to return to MMA then lace up the boxing gloves by the end of 2024.
“If it doesn’t work, I can still fight February or March in MMA,” Ngannou continued. “Then expecting by the end of the year, this time October because it’s going to give me at least seven to eight months to recover from my MMA fight in case something happens.”
For more on the matchup, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Fury vs. Ngannou.
