MMA News Today: Fury Claims He'd 'Kick Ngannou's A*se' In MMA, White Admits Musk vs. Zuckerberg 'Probably Not' Going To Happen, & More

Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For September 8, 2023, we’re taking a look at:

Tyson Fury Claims He’d ‘Kick Francis Ngannou’s a*se’ In MMADana White Admits Musk vs. Zuckerberg ‘Probably Not’ Going To HappenEugene Bareman Outlines UFC 293 Main Event Scenario That Would Mean His Team ‘Failed In Their Task’

Tyson Fury Claims He’d ‘Kick Francis Ngannou’s a*se’ In MMA

Billed as the “Battle Of The Baddest,” yesterday provided the first press conference for the boxing match between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou.

While most people are well aware that Ngannou is massively outmatched in a boxing match, with his one equalizer being knockout power, the roles would be reversed in a mixed martial arts contest.

But despite his lack of experience in multiple key areas of the sport, Fury apparently believes he could beat Ngannou in MMA…

After Fury mentioned being a world champion during a presser interaction, Ngannou made the distinction that he is only a champ in boxing, not as an overall fighter. 

As a counterpoint, “The Gypsy King” stated that he would beat the former UFC heavyweight champion in a fight regardless of the rules.

“No, not fighting, because I think I can beat you in a cage, I would kick your a*se in a cage no problem,” Fury said. “100 percent. First, I’ll beat you in a boxing ring, then I’ll beat your a*se in a cage.”

After their contest on October 28, we will see whether Fury is a man of his word and ventures to MMA for a rematch.

That's the seed.pic.twitter.com/7RfsbCOh87

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 7, 2023

Dana White Admits Musk vs. Zuckerberg ‘Probably Not’ Going To Happen

When the combat sports world became obsessed with the idea of Elon Musk fighting Mark Zuckerberg, UFC President Dana White was right in the middle of it.

Saying that he had spoken to both parties about the fight, White’s revelation that they were both serious about it marked the moment when the rumors really started to ramp up.

Unfortunately, Musk would later reveal that if the fight happened, it would go ahead between his and Zuckerberg’s own platforms without the UFC’s involvement.

With the whole thing going quiet over the last few weeks, it appears that the fight may be completely dead, which was seemingly confirmed by White in a recent interview on OutKick’s The Morning.

“It would have been the biggest charity event ever held in history, especially for one night and it would’ve helped a lot of people,” White said. “I don’t know (if there’s a chance it still happens). I never say never, but probably not.”

#RIPMuskvsZuckpic.twitter.com/84VUfr40Qt

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 7, 2023

Eugene Bareman Outlines UFC 293 Main Event Scenario That Would Mean His Team ‘Failed In Their Task’

In the lead-up to UFC 293, a lot of the talk surrounding the main event has been whether or not Sean Strickland will look to grapple with Israel Adesanya.

Seen as his best path to victory against the elite striker, Strickland has been open in saying that he should wrestle but probably won’t once the adrenaline gets to him.

In an interview with Submission Radio, Adesanya’s head coach Eugene Bareman made it clear that they are not going into this fight to grapple with Strickland.

Regardless of what gameplan the challenger decides to use, their main focus is keeping the fight standing, where “The Last Stylebender” excels.

“If Sean is able to grapple with Israel then we have failed in our task,” Bareman said. “At this level of the sport you always go in there with Plan A, with your A game. You never go into a sport and say ‘We’re gonna run our Plan B, we’re gonna run Plan B.’”

Read more on the story here.

For more MMA news, check out:

Nate Diaz Throws Doubt Over Jake Paul MMA Rematch With ‘F*ck PFL’ Proclamation: ‘Fight Yourself’Video: Brawl Breaks Out Between Undercard Fighters At Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou Press ConferenceDan Hooker References Yoel Romero To Outline ‘Best Case Scenario’ For Sean Strickland At UFC 293

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