24 October 2023 , 13:16
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Francis Ngannou believes he is looking past Tyson Fury as much as his rival is looking past him with the pair both eyeing future opportunities beyond Saturday's fight.
The former UFC heavyweight champion will make his boxing debut this weekend to kick of Riyadh Season against boxing's top heavyweight Fury. But the event was dulled somewhat by the news that the Brit has inked a deal to fight Oleksandr Usyk as soon as December for the undisputed world title.
However, Ngannou doesn't view it as particularly disrespectful, noting he is also looking to his future endeavours. Indeed, he has already inked a deal with MMA's No.2 promotion PFL to make his debut in their patented 'Smart Cage' next year regardless of the result on Saturday.
“I’m looking past him too," Ngannou joked during an appearance on The MMA Hour last night. "Do you think my life is going to stop after this fight? No. Do you think my career is going to end after this fight? No. I have a future after this fight, I am looking at other stuff.
"No earlier than last week I was on the phone with Pete Murray talking about PFL stuff. He is the right to look past me. We are not going to war, we are not going to die. We are just going to fight and then go back to continue with our lives.”
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Ngannou has yet to name an opponent for his PFL fight, but has said that whether he wins or loses this weekend he is obligated to fight in the cage next. He has a rematch clause with Fury should he pull off the massive upset, but will make the Brit wait in that case, having already agreed to an unprecedented deal with the MMA league.
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"The second fight would be after the PFL debut because the PFL debut is somewhere in the beginning of next year, maybe February or March next year," Ngannou explained in an earlier appearance on the show. "I was just talking to Peter Murray about it and that's the timeline. [No opponent] yet, but they are working on something. I just know that they are working on it, I don't have so many details about it."
Should Ngannou beat Fury on Saturday night, he will not win the WBC title due to being ineligible as an unranked debuting fighter. But he will become the 'lineal champion', and would be widely considered the greatest heavyweight in the world should he beat the undefeated Brit.