UFC chief Dana White has opened the door to a crossover fight between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou - but has made it clear there's one big condition.
The two heavyweights have both been pushing a fight in the future, with Ngannou recently stating he expects the bout to take place in 2023.
That time-frame is orientated around the fact that both are engaged for the near future, with Fury set to fight in the first quarter of the year, likely against Dillian Whyte, before a potential unification bout that is likely to include a rematch clause.
While there has been hope that a crossover fight could be next on the agenda, the major issue is Ngannou's contract with UFC.
UFC does not allow contracted fighters to fight outside of the organisation, though exceptions have been made - most notably for Conor McGregor's showdown with Floyd Mayweather.
And White has made it clear that if such a fight were to go ahead, it would have to capture the imagination like that fight did.
"It's a tough one. Obviously when there is this underground swell from the fans and from the media and the event builds up into something like Mayweather vs McGregor was, you saw how that worked out I ended up doing it," he told Manouk Akopyan.
"But I haven't seen anything that big and that crazy since. I'm doing fights every Saturday man, on Saturday I have the best heavyweight in the world against the second best heavyweight in the world.
"Also on the card I have the best flyweight in the world against the second best flyweight in the world and I have a tonne of up and coming talent. That is what the UFC does and what I do.
"If there is a fight that could be made with some of this other stuff that is that big that my fans really want to see it, I usually do it."
