UFC legend Vitor Belfort has patented a glove he feels is perfect for Tyson Fury's hybrid rules showdown with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
The boxing world heavyweight champion has agreed to step into the cage wearing smaller gloves than standard 10oz boxing ones that he has worn throughout his iconic career to face Ngannou, who recently left the UFC atop their heavyweight division. But the bout would otherwise take place under standard boxing rules, perhaps with the exception of allowing more clinch work.
And Belfort, who is a celebrity judge on Friday night's episode of the PFL MMA Challenger Series, has developed a hybrid glove for the bout. He believes that the meeting could herald in a new sport he calls 'BMA', which stands for 'Boxing Martial Arts' that is a boxing contest with MMA clinch elements but no kicking or grappling.
The glove has open fingers but maintains the padding of a regular boxing one, and comes in at 8oz, 10oz and a special 16oz for sparring. He showed them off during a chat with Mirror Fighting , espousing the virtues of his idea and offering to go into business with Fury and Ngannou.
"I'm not a boxer, I'm a boxer-martial artist," Belfort explained having transitioned between the two sports. "I was a boxer in MMA and now because I fought [Evander] Holyfield I'm a boxer? No, I've always been a boxer in MMA and my dream has been to bring these two sports together within one rule set called 'BMA; Boxing Martial Arts'.
"I want to see who's the best striker; the boxer or the martial artist? Let's combine them, put some clinch, some rules that could benefit the MMA fighter. MMA fighters are coming to boxing to make boxing relevant. That's what happened, MMA guys started moving into boxing and bringing interest but the advantage is always going to be for the boxer, don't get me wrong.
"It's impossible for the MMA fighter going into boxing with a boxer, and the same for a boxer getting in the cage with the MMA fighter. I've designed this glove, a special glove that's a boxing glove with an open palm. I have it over here, it's perfect and ready to do it, I would like to donate my gloves to them to fight."
Who do you think wins between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou in hybrid rules? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Fury has repeatedly expressed a keen interest in a super-fight that would pit the hard-hitting UFC heavyweight champion against arguably the greatest heavyweight boxer of his generation. And Belfort believes that he can help to facilitate that with his new ideas, with the fighter keen to make a meeting with Tyson Fury.
"If Francis Ngannou fights him in boxing rules he has no chance, I think it's not fair," Belfort continued. "The same way if Tyson Fury fights him in MMA there is no chance. So let's be real, time for us to put this stuff together and see who is the best striker. That's the future.
"I call this BMA where we put the two sports together in a martial art with only the hands. There's no kick, no knee, let's just see the hands. That's what I've been doing my whole life, knocking people out with the hands, I brought boxing to MMA, I was the guy who brought the speed element of being a good boxer.
"You see a lot of great boxers in MMA who could maybe defeat world champions, but let's make some rules that can make these big fights happen. That's what I hope... I would love to partner up with UFC or PFL with these elements, maybe we could do me vs Jake Paul in this glove!"
Vitor Belfort is a celebrity judge on Friday night's episode of PFL Challenger Series starting at 2am live on DAZN.
