UFC

TYSON FURY has seemingly leaked Francis Ngannou’s payday for their controversial crossover clash.The Gypsy King is just over four weeks away from locking horns with the former UFC heavyweight champion in a lucrative ten-round Saudi showdown.
Francis Ngannou will lock horns with Tyson Fury in a ten-round exhibition next monthCredit: REUTERS
The former UFC heavyweight champion is set to earn a pretty penny for the fightCredit: GETTY
Fury claims Ngannou will receive a minimum of £8.1million for their fightCredit: GETTY
Ngannou bagged the biggest fight of his career a mere six months after seemingly walking away from a guaranteed £6.5million ($8m) to face MMA icon Jon Jones.
Saudi chiefs have shelled out the big bucks to get Fury and Ngannou to share the ring.
And Fury claims the Cameroonian clubber will bag a minimum of £8.1million ($10m) as soon as he steps in the ring for their much-maligned desert dust-up.
The WBC heavyweight champion said: “Everyone said he was an idiot for walking away from the UFC and now all of a sudden he’s a genius, isn’t he?”
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“Guy’s about to make $10 million (£8.1m). Come on! Egg in their face! Francis is going to make that bag. Rich!”
Ngannou, 37, will make considerably more than the figure being publicly touted by Fury.
His guaranteed purse will be topped up by his respective cut of the fight’s pay-per-view sales – as well as sponsorship money.
The hard-hitting Ngannou goes into his professional boxing debut as a huge underdog.
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But he’s adamant he’ll shock the world and hand the undefeated Fury his first-ever loss.
He told The LadBible earlier this year: “He’s a great boxer.
“One of the best to ever do it. Personally, I think he’s a show guy.
“He’s a good show guy. He likes to have fun. He’s cool. And what I love about him, he’s a free man. He speaks free. He lives free.
“He’s not caged. And I like that attitude.
“Ten years ago, I wasn’t in the picture. Not even in the corner, like a dot. So I have my own chance.” More

PIERCE O’LEARY is appealing to fellow Dubliner Conor McGregor to help him secure a dream homecoming bout.The Notorious MMA superstar sponsored Irish legend Katie Taylor’s Three Arena fight against Chantelle Cameron last May and his new stout brand has backed the Saturday night Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang rematch at Wembley Arena.
Super-lightweight Dubliner Pierce O’Leary is climbing the rankings and dreaming of an iconic homecoming.Credit: Sportsfile
Super-lightweight 23-year-old O’Leary is on the London undercard this weekend but a fight at the iconic arena, just a few steps from his family home, is what he keeps dreaming of and he hopes McGregor can assist with.
“Let’s do Paddy’s Day, March 17, that weekend, let’s give everyone a bit of excitement for that weekend.” he grinned.
“The Three Arena is 200 yards from my house, I used to do laps around it as a kid to get fit and cut weight.
“Katie Taylor has got boxing back in there now, her fans packed it out from 5:30pm and that gives me hope I can get there soon.
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“I am reaching out to Conor and the Forged Stout company to sponsor a show there for us.
“Conor is an honourable man and when I have a bad day I watch loads of old Conor McGregor fights and footage, it helps me when I am alone in training camps over here in London away from my family.
“A lot of my girlfriend’s family, cousins and uncles, are close friends with Conor so it would be great to work together on something back in Dublin.”
O’Leary was a decorated amateur and could very comfortably still be living at home with his partner and three-year-old daughter while he adds to his undefeated early record.
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But he has dragged himself away to set up a tough solitary existence in a lonely flat close to trainer Al Smith’s excellent i-box gym in Bromley.
Zoom calls home can be torturous for the dedicated daddy but he believes he is toughening himself up now for the challenges to come.
“I think I am building the hardship,” he said.
“I want to have a different mentality to everybody else, when the going gets tough I still want to be hanging in there.
“Everytime I leave my family it feels like I am being stabbed with a sword and as it’s pulled out I am deflated.
“Every moment is sink-or-swim for me, Al has to throw me out of the gym every day and tell me to stop training.
“But this is my work ethic, I am not going to leave my family – who depend on me – to come over here and mess about.
“I am regimented, I am away from all distractions, I am lucky to have great grandparents on both sides back home helping with my daughter.”
Conor McGregor has sponsored a few boxing events recently and could add to that with Pierce O’LearyCredit: Instagram @ebaniebridges
O’Leary’s dashing good looks, designer spectacles and superpower have his manager Francis Warren plotting a Superman-style ring walk soon, complete with a flowing cape.
But the down-to-earth fighter feels like unnecessary attention is his kryptonite and hopes to laugh off the gimmick.
“I am telling you we are not doing it,” he laughed.
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“It keeps getting mentioned but it’s not my character. I don’t mind keeping my glasses on for the weigh-in scales but that’s all I need.
“If it really works for the media, then maybe but I don’t like messing around, these fights are where I earn my dough, how I feed my family, so there is no messing around for me.” More

JOHN FURY wants son Tyson to fight Jon Jones after Francis Ngannou – “battle royale” style. The Gypsy King returns on October 28 in Saudi Arabia against ex-UFC champion Ngannou.
John Fury wants son Tyson to fight Jon Jones after Francis NgannouCredit: PA
Jon Jones was called out by Tyson FuryCredit: Getty
Fury has even teased a rematch in the cage and called out UFC superstar Jones for a future bout.
And he has the backing of his dad John, who told him to forget about boxing the MMA icon to instead go for an all out brawl.
He told Seconds Out: “I know my son, he can get it the Hectogon [Octagon] with anybody.
“If you let Tyson kick and punch you and do all of them things to you, which I think should be allowed in this fight [with Ngannou].
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“I’d say let Ngannou do his s*** and let Tyson do his s***, and have a free-for-all, let the best man walk out of it.
“I think that you’ll see that with Jon Jones, I don’t want to see a boxing match.
“I want to see both men in an all-in battle royale, and let the best man stand up at the end of it with his hands in the air and say that he is the hardest man and the baddest man on the planet.”
“That’d be my plan [to fight Jon Jones]. I can’t speak for Tyson, I’m not his business advisor, I’m not his manager, I’m not his trainer, I’m just his father, but that is what I would want to see.”
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Ngannou, 37, walked out on the UFC and a potential super-fight with Jones, 36, to pursue a lucrative switch to boxing.
And Fury, 35, gave up his undisputed title pursuit of Oleksandr Usyk, 36, to welcome the Cameroonian to the ring.
The British heavyweight star further distanced himself from Usyk by calling to fight Jones after Ngannou.
Fury told Queensbury Promotions: “Hopefully I get through Ngannou and then I either fight Ngannou in a cage or I fight Jon Jones in a boxing match.
“I’d go in a cage with Ngannou for sure, I’d let him kick me, I’d let him do what he wants to me, a full MMA fight.
“I’d knock him out and probably break his arm on the way too with an arm-bar, I’ll kick his leg and break it in two.”
Fury and Francis Ngannou face off ahead of their fightCredit: Getty More

TYSON FURY says he will be training in an all-new SEVEN STAR hotel in Saudi Arabia before fighting Francis Ngannou. WBC world champion Fury welcomes ex-UFC star Francis Ngannou over to the boxing ring for a massive crossover clash.
Tyson Fury ahead of his fight with Francis NgannouCredit: Getty
The two heavyweight superstars collide on October 28 in Riyadh in the latest mega-money bout prised over to the Middle East.
And Fury is set to be treated like a king when he makes the 4,000 mile trip over from his Morecambe home.
He told SunSport: “I think we’re training in a nice hotel out there.
“They’ve given me my own seven-star, 100 bedroom hotel in Riyadh that’s not even open to the public yet. 
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“It’s got 16 restaurants, Michelin star restaurants, gyms, everything. So we’re looking forward to that.” 
Fury, 35, becomes the latest sporting superstar to take his career to the desert, following an influx of footballers signing crazy cash deals.
Cristiano Ronaldo, 38, was the first swap top-flight European action for the Saudi Super League when he joined Al-Nassr from Manchester United.
Neymar, 31, also walked out on PSG for Al-Hilal, meaning both could be in the house to watch Fury’s fight.
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But the Gypsy King claimed the wages the footballing pair are on is nothing compared to what he has coming his way.
He said: “They’re paying big money, everything they get involved in is big.
“And I believe I’ve just done the biggest boxing deal ever to be done in the history of boxing with them.
“I’m not at liability to talk about numbers but let’s just say the bag is big, mighty f***ing big. But will it change me? Not really.
“Still got the Crocs and the packed lunches from Asda, not too shabby mush!”
Asked if it was just a one-fight deal, Fury replied: “Can’t say but it’s the biggest boxing deal ever done in history.
“You know like all these big football deals, Ronaldo and Neymar and whoever else they’re trying to deal with, blows all that out of the water. Big, big, big.”

Ronaldo is believed to be on a £3.3m-per-WEEK contract which equates to £173MILLION yearly while Neymar is on wages of around £2.5m-a-week.
It saw Ronaldo top Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes in 2023, with boxer Canelo Alvarez, 33, fifth on the list with £88.7m banked.
Fury boxed just twice last year, stopping Dillian Whyte, 35, and Derek Chisora, 39, and it saw him slip outside Forbes’ top 50 list.
But in 2022, he was placed in 15th after making £50m.
Fury has won every belt there is in boxing and insisted unifying all four against rival Oleksandr Usyk, 36, is of no interest to him.
Instead, he wants to top Forbes’ sports rich list like UFC legend Conor McGregor did in 2021 and boasted he is a year or two away from it.
Fury said: “I wanna top the Forbes list.
“And I’ll probably do that this year, or next year. Sports’ No1 earner of all sports, that’s me. That’s the only thing I want to do.
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“Conor did well out of his career, earned a lot of money fair play to the man, and I want to top that sports list as well now.”
Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou face off before their crossover clashCredit: Getty More

TYSON FURY has hit back at an “insulting” question about his physique ahead of his boxing return.The WBC heavyweight world champion is set to take on UFC legend Francis Ngannou next month.
Tyson Fury hit back when asked about his physiqueCredit: Rex
The Gypsy King will make his boxing return against Francis Ngannou next monthCredit: Getty
It will mark the first time Fury has fought in 10 months, having last entered the ring in December 2022.
Speaking to Barstool ahead of the bout, Fury was asked whether he will “ever get in shape” for a fight.
“Nope, never,” the Gypsy King snapped back. “That’s insulting to say that, ‘Get in shape’.
“All these fighters, they want to be like bodybuilders, ripped and that.
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“But I always rocks the dad bod, bald head, fat, white as anything look absolutely disgusting with my top off and then when I knock out a good looking six pack it’s like, ‘What the f***, dude. What the f*** just happened?”
Fury has previously faced claims he looks “out of shape” between fights, including at the start of last year.
However, he later hit back at his critics and their fears over his physique before going on to beat Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora in 2022.
The 10th round technical knockout defeat of Chisora last December was Fury’s last fight, but he remains the WBC heavyweight champion.
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His belt will not be on the line against Ngannou, though, despite their clash being an official bout.
The pair are set to meet in the ring on October 28 in Saudi Arabia, with the former UFC heavyweight champion making his boxing debut. More

TYSON FURY has admitted he does not “give a s***” about fighting Oleksandr Usyk.The Gypsy King was close to agreeing on a fight with the Ukrainian, which would unify the heavyweight division until talks collapsed back in March.
Tyson Fury has no interest in fighting Oleksandr UsykCredit: Reuters
Fury has insisted that he is looking for the ‘biggest payday’Credit: Getty
The Gypsy King has touted Jon Jones as a potential opponentCredit: Getty
Fury, 35, has instead revealed that he is simply “looking for the biggest payday”.
The boxer has also claimed that he will “probably” look to fight UFC star Jon Jones as the match can be sold better.
He told the Daily Mail: “Nope, I am not interested in fighting Usyk, he’s a little Ukrainian dosser.
“That’s all he is to me. No interest in unifying the division. It doesn’t mean s*** to me. 
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“All that stuff about unifying and whatever, it really doesn’t mean anything to me.
“I am looking for the biggest payday. Most of the time, Usyk doesn’t cut it. 
“He’s just a foreign person who doesn’t speak good English, so you can’t really sell him.
“I am looking for probably another American. Probably looking to fight Jon Jones in a boxing fight.”
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Fury’s next fight will come next month on October 28 as he faces former UFC star Francis Ngannou.
Ngannou is currently being trained by boxing icon Mike Tyson.
Fury admitted he was “sad” to learn about the American joining his opponent.
The undefeated WBC heavyweight champion told Sky Sports: “I think that it’s sad, actually.
“The man that I am named after, a legend, has to go against me and then come out as a loser.
“Having lost to a man who was named after him.
“I think that it’s sad and I think that he should be in my corner, not the opposing corner.
“But business is business and I understand that it’s strictly business.” More