Tyson Fury Trains Grappling With Nick Diaz To Prepare For Francis Ngannou
Tyson Fury may have retired from professional boxing but plans to continue fighting in exhibition bouts.
Following a brutal knockout win over Dillian Whyte, the WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury announced his retirement from boxing. ‘The Gypsy King’ brought over UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou to the ring in order to promote their possible clash down the line.
Tyson Fury works on grappling
Tom Aspinall, friend and former teammate of Fury, had recently proposed a mixed ruleset for the crossover fight similar to the format used by ONE Championship for Rodtang’s hybrid MMA/Muay Thai match against Demetrious Johnson. Aspinall also shared that Fury had been grappling at the gym with other British athletes.
Ahead of his anticipated bout with Ngannou, Fury has been training with UFC legend Nick Diaz to learn grappling techniques. The 33-year-old is expected to take on ‘The Predator’ sometime next year and having grappling included will make the contest more fair.
In a post shared on Diaz’s Instagram, Tyson Fury can be spotted in multiple photos getting the rounds in on the mat with the BJJ specialist.
“Nice bit of rolling around the mat,” Fury commented on the post.
Nick Diaz looking for a shot at the title
Former UFC title challenger Nick Diaz is looking to get one more run-in for the title before hanging up the gloves. Having remained semi-retired for the last seven years, the Stockton-native made his return against Robbie Lawler last September. As good as he looked during the fight considering the time he had taken off, Diaz could not continue to finish the distance.
In a recent fan meet and greet, Diaz was interviewed by a TMZ Sports reporter about his plans for the future. The former Strikeforce, WEC, and IFC welterweight champion shared his ambitions to add the UFC gold to his glittering resume.
“If I’m going to fight, I want to fight for the title,” Diaz said. “They want to say that I want to fight a bunch of guys and stuff like that. Well, you know what? It’s a bigger fight.
“Just skip all the mess. I don’t need to go in there and get my ass whooped by one of the young guys, anyway – and it’s not that I won’t win. I want to fight for the title. I’m 38 years old. I think I’ll beat him. … I would love it if they gave me a shot.”
