Francis Ngannou has doubled down on his intentions to fight Tyson Fury after his UFC 270 title defence.
The Cameroonian heavyweight champion will come up against arguably the most dangerous opponent in the class in undefeated Frenchman Ciryl Gane later this month.
But with his current contract talks having stalled with the UFC, Ngannou wants to face Fury in the boxing ring before continuing his career in the octagon.
Ngannou, the world record holder for the most powerful punch, has dominated the heavyweight division in the UFC for the last few years - with five consecutive wins all coming by way of an early knockout with his simply outrageous power.
A heavyweight blockbuster against Fury could be next and Ngannou is feeling confident the fight will happen.
Speaking on the DAZN Boxing Show, Ngannou said: "I do believe that that fight will happen.
"I first started boxing, you know, MMA for me was an opportunity and as I always say, I want to have a little bit of recall of boxing, it's not one-off stuff.
"I'm 35 years old. It's not like I have a lifetime ahead of me. I'm very aware of my age and the stage of my career.
"If I really want to do this, I think it's time to do it, but I don't see why that shouldn't be possible for them [the UFC] as well."
Fury is not shying away from Ngannou and publicly challenged him to a boxing-MMA crossover fight.
Fury proposed a boxing match between the pair wearing UFC gloves. Fury boxes in 10oz gloves, whilst Ngannou is accustomed to wearing the smaller 4oz UFC gloves.
Fury told TMZ: "Me and Ngannou in the small gloves, let’s make it happen. As soon as I am done with Wilder and (Anthony) Joshua, I will fight Ngannou in an octagon, in the four ounce gloves and just punching.”
Fury wants to return to the ring early this year after beating Deontay Wilder in a trilogy bout in October.
