Khabib Nurmagomedov, widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, has weighed in on Francis Ngannou's pursuit of a boxing career. Ngannou recently left the UFC to pursue his dream of boxing and has signed a deal to face Tyson Fury in a 10-round contest in October in Saudi Arabia.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Khabib Nurmagomedov explained that if Francis Ngannou was after more money, boxing Fury for millions of dollars made sense. However, Nurmagomedov also warned the French-Cameroonian of losing his legacy as the world's greatest heavyweight fighter after leaving the UFC.
He said:
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"Francis Ngannou, I think he has to stay with the UFC. If he can go to boxing and make 50-60 million dollars, he has to... I know Francis comes from a very poor life in Africa... If someone pays you more money, go and take it if your goal is money. If not, if you want to make history and become the greatest heavyweight of all time, you have to stay in UFC."
Catch Nurmagomedov's comments here (4:28):
Khabib Nurmagomedov predicts Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury boxing match
In the same interview with Sky Sports, Khabib Nurmagomedov shared his prediction for the highly anticipated Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury boxing match. While Ngannou is a dominant force in the MMA cage, Nurmagomedov doesn't see him posing a significant threat to Fury in a boxing match.
He acknowledged Fury's status as one of the best heavyweight boxers and suggested that only fighters like Oleksandr Usyk would present a tough challenge to him in the boxing realm.
"Tyson Fury, this guy is the best right now. I think Tyson Fury is on a different level in boxing. If they fight in MMA, of course, Francis Ngannou has a chance... If they fight in UFC, Tyson Fury has not much of a chance. In boxing, I don’t see anyone that can touch his face, maybe [Oleksandr] Usyk. Usyk is going to be his toughest challenge for Tyson Fury."