Francis Ngannou has jokingly called out Russian social media sensation Hasbulla after he announced he had signed a deal to fight in the UFC.
The hard-hitting heavyweight champion last tipped the scales at 257lb, which is around 217lb more than the reported 40lb that the Russian weighs. Hasbulla has a Growth Hormone deficiency that means he is around 3'4" and has the appearance of a young child, despite turning 20 earlier this year.
Hasbulla has become a huge star across Tik Tok, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter over the past few years since a video went viral showing him having a press conference for a planned 'fight' with rival influencer Abdu Rozik. That fight never happened, but it appears that Hasbulla will be stepping into the octagon after announcing a deal with the UFC yesterday.
"The rumours are true," he wrote on his Instagram page, which has over 3.5million followers. "I have officially signed a deal to fight in the UFC! Details will be revealed by the end of the year. Thank you to UFC, Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov , Surkhay Sungurov, Justin Ozuna and everyone who helped make this dream become a reality. All my fans will be able to buy a Hasbulla fight kit soon on UFC.com and hasbulla.com."
And Ngannou took to Twitter to welcome the youngster to the fight world, calling him out for a bout in a joking post with a mocked-up photo of the pair. He captioned the picture, which received around 16,000 likes; "I think I have my next title defence," and tagged Hasbulla.
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Cameroonian Ngannou is 16 years Hasbulla's senior, and as well as weighing 15-and-a-half stone heavier than the influencer is almost double his height at 6'4". The heavyweight champion is currently at odds with the UFC over his contract after winning the last fight of his deal against Ciryl Gane in January.
Hasbulla is expected to be back on fan's screens for UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on October 22 when he corners pal Islam Makhachev for his lightweight title bout against Charles Oliveira. It has been confirmed by Makhachev's manager Ali Abdelaziz that Hasbulla will join Khabib Nurmagomedov in his team for the biggest fight of his career on Saturday next week.
