Dillian Whyte Talks Possible MMA Fight; Says He’d Face Francis Ngannou

By James Slater - 05/12/2020 - Comments

Like many of us, Dillian Whyte tuned into UFC 249 this past Saturday night, the highly ranked British heavyweight contender no doubt as excited as the rest of us to see some live combat sporting action during these strange, strange times. And though Whyte has expressed serious interest in having an MMA fight before now, “The Body Snatcher” is perhaps even more pumped up at the idea of facing Francis Ngannou.

Cameroon man-mountain Ngannou scored a scarily impressive 20-second KO of Jairzinho Rozenstruik on the card held in Jacksonville, Florida, impressing many people – Mike Tyson included; “Iron Mike” stating how Ngannou is a “future champ.” But Whyte says he saw nothing to be afraid of, certainly nothing to make him change his mind on wanting the fight.

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Speaking with Eddie Hearn and Tony Bellew on their video podcast, Whyte – who is still awaiting details of his scheduled fight with Alexander Povetkin – said he would take a fight with Ngannou.

“I’ve had MMA fights. There’s one on the internet, my debut, [it] lasted only 20 seconds or whatever,” Whyte, 27-1(18) in the boxing arena, said. “Their game-plan would be to kick the legs and take me down. He [Ngannou] would never try and stand up with me, he’s not stupid. He would never try and do that. The thing is, I come from a martial arts background. I can wrestle and I can do Thai boxing. It’s a fight, I don’t care. I will have it.”

I don’t know about you, but after having seen how poweful and how destructive 33 year old Ngannou really is – all 6ft 4in and approx 255 pounds of him – I would pay to see Whyte climb into the cage to go to war with him. Or better still, how about Ngannou trying his hand at boxing and taking a fight with Whyte? Hey, there are far crazier, and more dangerous, fights being spoken of right now.

Ngannou, fast for his size and impressively built, did actually want to be a boxer at first. A huge Tyson fan, a 26 year old Ngannou arrived penniless in Paris and began training to be a fighter. Soon he was introduced to MMA; making his UFC debut in 2015.

It could prove to be a massive promotion if Whyte actually fought Ngannou, and despite what Whyte says there is no certainty on who would win. Would you pay to see it? I sure would. I’m certain Mike Tyson would, too.