UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou wants his superfight with Tyson Fury, and nothing will get in his way.
Ngannou is determined to get a fight with boxing champion Fury one way or another, as he finds himself in a contract dispute with the UFC. Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) fought out his deal in January following a successful title defense against Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 270. He’s set to become a free agent in December.
The Cameroonian has been open about the issues he’s faced in dealing with the UFC brass. And although there’s been a lot of tension between the two parties, Ngannou is still keen to re-sign with the UFC but only under one condition.”
“The Tyson Fury fight has to be part of the discussion,” Ngannou said during an interview on “The MMA Hour” on Monday. “That’s not an option. It has to be part of the discussion because if that’s not part of the discussion, it will never be. If I sign another contract now, basically the same model of the contract, I’m screwed. That’s not happening ever. So we have to figure out a way to implement this into a contract.”
Ngannou could wait out until his UFC championship clause expires and fight Fury without the UFC’s involvement. However, he sees a life in MMA afterward and considers the UFC the right place to continue fighting.
“I think the UFC is a good promotion, and I want to keep fighting,” Ngannou said. “The Tyson Fury is not my last fight. I want to keep fighting. After Tyson Fury there’s still a lot of fights. There’s the Jon Jones, there’s the Stipe trilogy.
“There’s big fights I can do in the UFC, and I would really like that to happen. I would really like us to get to a common point. Yes, I can do the Tyson Fury fight on my own, but what’s next? I would like to keep fighting. I would like for us to come to an agreement.”
For now, Ngannou revealed there’s been little progress with the UFC regarding his contract situation. There have been a couple of meetings since his last fight, but none have gotten closer to getting him to sign a new deal.
“We had a dinner with the UFC, and that wasn’t about the contract situation. That was just about clearing the air because it is clear at this point that we had to clear the air,” said Ngannou, who’s recovering from knee surgery. “It was just to clean things out, speak things out, and we kind of just spoke. I was speaking about my frustration, but also I had to go back home because it’s not a thing that’s supposed to be solved in one night or over one or two dinners.
“It might take some time. I went home and saw my family and came back and had the surgery. … As far as business, we haven’t really moved on. I think just now what they’re trying to do is clear the air.”
