Mike CoppingerESPNJ11. Jul 2023 09:13 ET2 minutes read
Tyson Fury, the line-up heavyweight boxing champion, and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou will face off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 28, sources told ESPN.
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman didn’t respond to a text message asking if Fury’s WBC heavyweight title was at stake. The rules and number of rounds for the competition were unclear at the time.
Announcing a future meeting in April 2022, Fury and Ngannou shared the ring after Fury’s sixth-round TKO win over Dillian Whyte in London to retain his WBC heavyweight title.
“The great Francis Ngannou is here today,” Fury said at the time. “He’s on my hit list in an exhibition match any way he wants it: in a cage, in a boxing ring, boxing gloves, UFC gloves, we can make it happen. I think everyone would like to see it. He’s a monster of a guy.” Man, I’m a monster of a guy, so it’s going to be a clash of titans for sure.
The 34-year-old Englishman returned in December for a trilogy fight with Derek Chisora, who picked up an injury win in the 10th round to retain the top spot in ESPN’s heavyweight rankings.
Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) was in talks to meet Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship in April at London’s Wembley Stadium, but negotiations collapsed in March.
Now ESPN’s No. 7 pound-for-pound boxer meets one of the biggest names in martial arts at a star-studded event in the Middle East.
Ngannou (20-3-3 MMA record) last competed in January 2022 when he defended his UFC Heavyweight Championship with a unanimous victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. That was Ngannou’s last fight in the Octagon.
After failing to agree on a contract extension with the UFC, Ngannou parted ways with the MMA organization in January. Now he is about to make his boxing debut, fulfilling a lifelong dream he set out to fulfill when he fled Cameroon for France at the age of 26.
Ngannou, 36, underwent surgery in March to repair his MCL and ACL. Two months later, he signed a contract with the PFL that allowed him to box as well.
“My next step has to be boxing,” Ngannou told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in March. “I would like to compete in a boxing match first and then maybe return to MMA because I still enjoy MMA and to be able to make an announcement about possible fight dates and locations.
“It’s taking a little longer than I expected, but progress is being made. Great things come with time.”