Morning Report: Michael Bisping says Tyson Fury 'does not respect the threat of Francis Ngannou one little bit'

04/10/2023 13:00

Michael Bisping believes Tyson Fury is playing a dangerous game with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

"The Gypsy King" has double-booked himself with upcoming boxing matches. Supremely confident as always, the undefeated 33-0-1 Fury is set to battle it out with boxing rookie Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Oct. 28. A few months later in either December or January, Fury is expected to collide with his fellow elite-level boxer Oleksandr Usyk in a return to Riyadh.

The announcement came as a telling shock for Bisping, who is in full support of his fellow MMA practitioner.

"He is mocking him," Bisping said of Fury on his YouTube channel. "He does not take him seriously, he does not respect the threat of Francis Ngannou one little bit. Why do I say that? It's pretty simple. He's already booked his next fight against Oleksandr Usyk, who is the next-best heavyweight on planet Earth.

"He's taking the piss. He doesn't give him any credit whatsoever. Well, listen. Ngannou's not a boxer. He's a mixed martial artist. We know that. He's not as tall, he's not as fast, he's not as skilled. But the man can bang and he can knock people out and I'm telling you, is Tyson Fury making a massive mistake here? Because in the fight game, they always say, 'Never look past your opponent. Never underestimate your opponent. Always expect the best version of them.'"

Bisping is no stranger to doing the unthinkable, famously upsetting Luke Rockhold in the duo's rematch at UFC 199 in June 2016 with the UFC middleweight crown on the line. The first-round knockout win ultimately solidified England's Bisping's place in the UFC Hall of Fame, leading him to a successful redemptive title defense against his old foe Dan Henderson.

With the punching power of someone like Ngannou, anything is possible. Bisping believes the chances for the underdog could translate better simply because of the weight class the fight is happening in.

"If Francis Ngannou's gonna win this fight, he's gonna do it in the first two or three rounds," Bisping said. "He's gotta get ahold of Tyson Fury, push him into the corner, and then just swing like an absolute maniac because if he tries to pick his shots, No. 1, he's not fast enough, he's not skilled enough, and he just won't land. He will be hitting fresh air all day. If he throws him in the corner, uses his power, uses his strength, uses the wrestling whilst he can before the ref breaks it up, and just swings like a maniac, you never know. Outside of that, it's all done. Simple as that.

"The biggest upset in the history of boxing was Mike Tyson — the baddest man on the planet who just happens to be training Francis Ngannou — taking on Buster Douglas. Nobody gave Buster Douglas a chance, but what happened? He knocked him out.

"If that doesn't tell you that anything can happen in the squared circle, I don't know what does," he concluded.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Kyung Ho Kang (19-9, 1 NC) vs. John Castañeda (20-6); UFC 295, Nov. 11

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FINAL THOUGHTS

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