19 July 2023 , 10:38
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MMA fans have praised Tyson Fury for "manipulating" the UFC and its boss Dana White by holding talks for a fight with heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Fury entered into talks with the promotion about a potential crossover fight over the past few months, before eventually announcing that he would instead face Francis Ngannou. The Cameroonian is the lineal champion in the UFC, only losing his belt by being stripped for leaving the promotion earlier this year.
The fight has been panned in the boxing world, but MMA fans are over the moon to see Ngannou finally get the opportunity to earn a massive payday in Saudi Arabia. He was paid just $600,000 for his last title defence despite selling out the KIA Forum and headlining on pay-per-view, and now stands to earn over $10million for facing Fury.
And one Reddit fan theory claims that the boxer played the UFC into hyping his next move, which is a similar crossover fight, despite Ngannou not being their fighter. "It just dawned on me that Fury never intended to fight Jones or deal with Dana," one user wrote. "He already had a done deal with Ngannou.
"He baited them by trolling Jones online, drawing him and Dana in to bring a s***load of more attention to the point where Dana said he would make it happen, and then the switch....Bam! Ngannou! The timings are perfect. They played Dana like a puppet and got free hype, leaving it clear to the fans that this was a UFC worthy deal, invoking Floyd vs Conor conversations... The old gypsy bait and switch."
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Ngannou has inked a mega-money deal to fight Fury, but has also confirmed his MMA comeback which will take place early next year. He's signed to the sport's No.2 promotion PFL, where he will fight an as-yet unnamed heavyweight in his first bout for what will be over two years.
Jon Jones entered into talks over a fight with Tyson Fury briefly (Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)Do you agree with the Reddit theory about Tyson Fury? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Speaking Monday on The MMA Hour, Ngannou confirmed that he has signed a rematch clause in the case he beats Fury, but will first step into the PFL cage. "There is a potential rematch clause," he confirmed. "I don't know exactly how to explain that language but yes, there is a rematch inside."
Asked if he would be rematching Fury immediately in the case of a win, Ngannou responded: "For that one, definitely, but [if Fury wins] that's where we don't know. We will see how it goes, but that's why I have to win this fight. I have to put everything to get this rematch as well.
"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. I was just talking to Peter Murray about it and that's the timeline. [There is 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."