Deontay Wilder is not kidding when he says he wants to face Francis Ngannou, but not in boxing, in MMA!
Francis Ngannou made an impression after his superb performance against Tyson Fury in their boxing fight which took place at the end of October. Even if he lost, many agree that Ngannou can do badly, very badly in the noble art. Even Dana White praised Francis Ngannou after his fight, which is saying something.
Only two days after this fight, we learned that Francis Ngannou was in serious discussions with Deontay Wilder for an MMA fight. Wilder, who is awaiting his next boxing opponent after beating Robert Helenius last year, had already launched several challenges to the ‘Predator’: last February, he offered two fights to Francis Ngannou which the latter accepted. But nothing happened after that.
Wilder has, for some time now, been floating the idea of him getting in the cage for an MMA fight, and now, in light of how big a global star Francis Ngannou is due to the way he shocked the hell out of Tyson Fury, Wilder is again saying he would like a fight with Ngannou – maybe two, one on the ring, one on the cage.
Wilder, who spoke with Blue Blood Sports, said that he was supposed to welcome Ngannou into the world of pro boxing, not Fury. Now, Wilder says he is serious about wanting to try his hand at MMA.
Now, the talks are open again, and Wilder via Blue Blood Sports TV has said that he intends to go in the cage against Francis:
“People don’t know me and Francis was supposed to fight first in boxing. Some things have happened, all I can say is that it’s business. This fight happened, which is cool because Francis has made a name for himself… I’m thinking of doing both, UFC and boxing. I will be a dangerous man in the UFC with these four ounce gloves, I broke the punching machine with these four ounce gloves. “
“These are real things. I think that’s my competitive side, wanting to do both. To come in and just show the ability of what I can do. I don’t think there’s anything cooler than being a champion in both sports. “
Wilder is still very optimistic about becoming a champion in MMA. Afterwards, he doesn’t talk about timing and doesn’t give any date… Which will perhaps allow him to train in feet/fists and wrestling/grappling. Otherwise, Francis risks making short work of him.
