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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Ben Davies

Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou warned face-off in ring was "rude"

Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou have been told they were "rude" by not notifying UFC president Dana White about their face-off at Wembley Stadium.

Fury knocked out Dillian Whyte with a brutal uppercut to retain his heavyweight title before being confronted in the ring by Ngannou who was ringside for the fight. The pair talked up their potential crossover bout with Fury confirming he is willing to shelve his retirement plans to challenge the Cameroon star.

And UFC legend Chael Sonnen believes UFC kingpin White would have opted to leak the news to the media if it wasn't kept a secret from him. "If I were in Dana's shoes and I get tipped off, I will personally leak that to somebody in the media," Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. "I am going to take away from whatever this big reveal moment is.

"Which leads me to believe that Dana didn't know. And that's relevant. It's very relevant because it's very rude. If Dana has a partner somewhere and that partner has information that is pertinent to Dana's organisation and they don't share it. How did they keep this secret? They did a very good job. It was a great reveal. It was a treat for the end of the night."

Ngannou is planning to face Fury in a maiden boxing exploit and would rather do so than meet Jon Jones in a further title defence of his own belt. However his plan remains to stay in the promotion while inserting a clause into his new contract where he is free to negotiate outside of his existing deal if options become available.

The pair spoke about a potential fight in the ring with Fury offering an immediate U-turn from his plans to retire in a bid to fight Ngannou next year. The UFC champion is currently out of action after having surgery on a knee ligament injury and is unlikely to return until later in the year.

Who wins if the pair fight - Tyson Fury or Francis Ngannou? Let us know in the comments section below

Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou came face-to-face (ESPN)

Despite having limited experience in the boxing ring, Ngannou is confident he can beat the boxing world's top stars including Fury due to his explosive power. "We have been talking about this going back and forth for like the past two years and I think we are close to getting this on," Ngannou told BT Sport. "I think I can beat everybody, it won't be an easy fight in the boxing world but I can beat anybody.

"I will get prepared and I am getting better and better every time I fight. In a few months I am back in the gym and I will be getting ready and I am looking forward to taking the challenge on."

Fury has already stated his intentions to face Ngannou and has already proposed a date in Las Vegas next year for the fight to take place.

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