Tyson Fury made clear that mixed martial arts doesn’t hold his attention once a fight goes down to the mat.
Speaking on ALF Global, the former heavyweight world champion was blunt about his lack of interest in grappling, even while praising boxers who choose to cross over into MMA.
Asked to name the best MMA athlete in the world, Fury admitted he doesn’t follow the sport closely enough to answer:
Again, I don’t know. I don’t understand anything about MMA.
For me, MMA only becomes interesting when they’re standing there punching each other in the face.
When they’re on the floor wrestling, it’s not my thing.
But even with his disinterest in grappling itself, Fury spoke favorably about the growing trend of MMA fighters transitioning into boxing.
Asked about Ilia Topuria expressing interest in switching disciplines, he welcomed the idea:
It seems to me that if they’re popular and well known, they can switch to any other combat sport, because now it’s all about popularity.
How many tickets they’ll sell, how many views they’ll get. That’s it.
Well, yeah, I think it’s good. I think it’s good for both sports
I think it’s good for MMA and for boxing.
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