UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is happy that former heavyweight titleholder Francis Ngannou landed a fight with Tyson Fury.
Ngannou left the UFC after fighting out his contract looking for bigger paydays in boxing. It was a risky move that most people that was a mistake. Of course, it paid off in a big way.
“I love this for Francis,” said Sterling. “Everything he stood for, held out for, losing out on time; he’s getting it all back. It’s all coming back full circle.”
“We’ve never seen a thing like this happen with a fighter leaving the UFC in a situation like that. That sets a whole new precedent, and I think it’s cool. I think it shows that sometimes it’s cool to bet on yourself.
“The UFC is typically the biggest show in town. That can never be disputed, so for someone to say I’m not going to take the bird in hand and I’m going to try to take the two, or in Francis’ case, maybe the eight or ten in the bush and take all those bags back home and try to eat; that’s a wild gamble, and I’d like to say he won.”
Ngannou already beat the odds, more than once in his life. The question now is, can he beat Tyson Fury in a boxing match? With Ngannou’s size and punching power, people are going to tune in to see.
“I’m tuning in to watch that because I know Ngannou has freakish power,” said Sterling. “If he connects, that is as Deontay Wilder as it gets.”
https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufcnews/aljamain-sterling-is-happy-francis-ngannous-wild-gamble-paid-off