UFC heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou believes he and new WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury have “a little story together.”

Fury, to remind, has previously teased an MMA bout with Ngannou, while Ngannou has repeatedly discussed a boxing match with Fury.

“(I’m interested in) competing in the boxing match in general, but Fury and I have some little story together because he was first calling me out in MMA and everything,” Ngannou told MMA Junkie recently (via MMA News). “Basically, the man stands, after his fight yesterday as the best heavyweight. No argument about that – he stands as the best heavyweight. For someone looking to box, you definitely have to go through him to prove that you’re the best.”

Tyson Fury returned to the ring on Saturday, when he stopped Deontay Wilder — perhaps the only man in combat sports with punching power to rival Ngannou’s — in the seventh round. With this victory, Fury captured the WBC heavyweight title and maintained his status as boxing’s lineal heavyweight champ.

Francis Ngannou, meanwhile, is scheduled to return to the cage in the main event of UFC Columbus, where he’ll take on streaking Surinamese knockout artist Jairzinho Rozenstruik. If Ngannou wins this fight, he could well be the next man in line for UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic.

Ngannou will enter this fight with three-straight victories in the rear-view: destructive first-round finishes of fellow contender Curtis Blaydes, and former champions Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos.

Would you be interested in seeing a fight between Francis Ngannou and Stipe Miocic?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/25/2020.