Francis Ngannou provides probable timeline for Tyson Fury showdown, says the matchup will trump Fury vs. Joshua

After Francis Ngannou's sudden exit from the UFC, the possibility of a matchup between the Cameroonian and WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has increased.

Fury himself called out Ngannou and outlined terms for a potential fight between the two. Ngannou offered an update on the fight and provided a possible timeline for it in an interview with TMZ Sports:

"Yes, I have talked to somebody. Some of his advisors, hopefully. But they are working on a fight with Usyk in April. So, until then he will not be free. But I'm just trying to see if we can have an agreement before that fight. That will also give me some time to get prepared for a boxing fight. So, I have no problem with that. The timeline that I am expecting that I hope will be like sometime in June [or] July, which is doable. So, let's see, I think it's too early to make a conclusion."

'The Predator' also mentioned how the fight could prove to be a bigger draw than the popular matchup between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua that has not materialized despite high demand from fans:

"Yes, I mean, we've been talking about this fight in the past two years, little over two years. So, I think at this point, the people are waiting for this fight and talking about this fight more than the Joshua fight. Although the Joshua fight was a massive fight, I would say both fights would be in the same magnitude of a fight."

Check out Tyson Fury's callout to Ngannou:

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Francis Ngannou talks about meeting Cristiano Ronaldo

Francis Ngannou, during his time off, recently met up with Cristiano Ronaldo in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Both athletes posted about the meeting on Instagram, and pictures indicate that they had a fun time as they faced off too.

Francis Ngannou spoke about his experience meeting the former Real Madrid man and lauded his love and unexpected knowledge of mixed martial arts:

"It's pretty cool, man. I've been following Cristiano for the past, what, maybe 17 years. And then, you know, to get to meet him in person and find out that he is a huge fan of the sport. That he knows a lot about the sport. He loves the sport. He's watched us fight. He knows a lot about me than what I was expecting. I mean, I wasn't even expecting that."

Watch Francis Ngannou's full interview with TMZ below: