If Francis Ngannou does shock the world and knock Tyson Fury out in their big crossover boxing bout on October 28th, he’ll have to do it again before being done with “The Gypsy King.”
During a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Ngannou confirmed that there was a rematch clause in their contract to box in Saudi Arabia this fall … although it sounds like it only applies if “The Predator” wins.
“Yeah, there’s a potential rematch clause,” Ngannou said. “I don’t know exactly how to explain that language, but yes, there is a rematch inside it. For [if I win], definitely. But [if he wins], that’s what I don’t know. We will see how it goes. That’s why I have to win this fight. I have to do everything to get that rematch.”
That news may frustrate MMA fans who just want to see Ngannou ply his trade in a cage rather than a ring. But Ngannou claims it won’t affect the current scheduling of his first PFL fight, set for the first quarter of 2024.
“The second [Fury] fight would be after the PFL debut,” he said. “Because the PFL fight is somewhere in the beginning of next year. Maybe in February or March of next year. I was talking with [PFL president] Pete Murray about it, and that’s the timeline.”
Let’s hope the PFL has some sort of legal leverage to ensure that happens, because you know there will be immense pressure from Tyson Fury’s camp to have an immediate rematch should he lose to Francis Ngannou in Riyadh. And when you’re talking about the original fight being a ten figure payday, how much would a rematch be if Ngannou clips and fells Fury? We have a hard time imagining anyone potentially fumbling that bag to fight who knows who in the PFL.
Not that this is considered a likely occurrence. Fury is a -1000 favorite, with some books having him at -1500. You never know, though, when dealing with the knockout power of Francis Ngannou.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
