UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has been backed to leave the promotion and earn £29.5million to box Tyson Fury.
Ngannou fought out of his UFC contract last month by outpointing Ciryl Gane to make the first defence of his heavyweight title.
'The Predator' is free to leave in December despite the 'champion's clause' meaning he owes the promotion one more fight, as the contract he signed in 2017 cannot exceed five years.
He admitted turning down multiple contract offers from the UFC has cost him around £5.2million.
And former two-weight UFC champion Henry Cejudo predicts Ngannou will leave the UFC to fight WBC champion Fury.
"The case here is there’s about 40 million dollars waiting for him if he fights ‘The Gypsy King’ and I believe that's the route that he's going," he told The Triple C & Schmo Show.
"I knew the UFC offered him a lot more than what they would have ever offered him but that being said, I think he's going to take the money route.
"He's going to fight ‘The Gypsy King,’ he’s going to do this exhibition… I believe he does deserve a 40 million dollar pay day cause that's exactly what he will get if he fights ‘The Gypsy King’.”
If a crossover fight between Ngannou and Fury is to happen, it will unlikely take place this year as Ngannou will be forced out until October with a knee injury.
Ngannou has always had plans to compete in the ring, training to become a boxer before he was convinced by an old coach to switch to MMA.
The UFC star and Fury have repeatedly called each other out, with 'The Gypsy King' recently being told to "man up" and fight Ngannou in 4oz MMA gloves.
Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan wants Ngannou to earn similar money as Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather did in their 2017 crossover bout.
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“I want to see him box because I want to see him get a giant chunk of money – like, Conor McGregor-style, Floyd Mayweather chunk of money,” Rogan said on his podcast.
“I’d love to see that. If (Ngannou) fought Tyson Fury, how much money would they be able to make?
“It’s off the pay-per-view. It’s off what they could sell. Obviously, it would have to be very marketable. Tyson Fury is very marketable. Francis Ngannou is very marketable.
"Especially as a UFC heavyweight champion going up to fight in boxing … It would be weird to see Tyson Fury like a legit 5 inches taller than Francis Ngannou."
