Former heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder is apparently dead serious about testing himself in mixed martial arts.

The native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has repeatedly expressed interest in fighting former UFC champion Francis Ngannou—and not just in a bout using boxing rules. Wilder has floated the idea of fighting Ngannou based on the latter’s natural métier.

Talk of Wilder vs. Ngannou has ramped up recently after Ngannou nearly pulled off a monumental upset of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in their 10-round “crossover” bout last month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in what was the Cameroonian’s boxing debut. Ngannou shockingly dropped Fury in the third round but ended up losing a razor close split decision.

Ngannou’s better-than-expected effort has inspired matchmaking ideas across the combat sports sphere. Wilder, for one, has apparently reached out to Ngannou about doing business together.

In a recent interview, Wilder doubled down on his desire to not only fight in MMA but to actually enter the fold of the largest MMA organization in the world, the UFC.

“My thing is I’m trying to come into the UFC family,” Wilder told ESNews. “I’m looking to cross over and do both boxing and going to the UFC as well. I’m serious about that. I’ve been getting a lot of calls. …I can see myself doing both. Being since boxing is not going as fast as it should be or fighters fearing for themselves not to fight.”

Wilder said a big motivation of joining the UFC is the fact that his boxing career has slowed in recent years. Wilder has only fought once since his knockout loss to Tyson Fury in 2021, a first-round knockout of Robert Helenius last October. Wilder pointed to the UFC’s track record of “the best fighting the best,” which he credited to the UFC’s outspoken head, Dana White. Wilder, however, will likely have to settle for a smaller purse in the UFC than the kinds he is accustomed to making in boxing; top boxers tend to outearn top UFC fighters. (It is unlikely that Ngannou would be involved in this scenario since he acrimoniously parted ways with the UFC earlier this year).

“You have a UFC fight where I know you ain’t got to worry about records, you ain’t gotta worry about managers or promotions or whatever,” Wilder said. “The best is going to fight the best, because Dana gonna make sure they get what they want. Like he said, it ain’t all about record. It’s about the best fighting the best. That’s where I want to be at. I got several years left in me to be able to do this. I just wanna run it all out. I want to squeeze it all out until my time is up. I got a lot to deal right now. I just want to benefit both worlds. Being champion in both of them, heavyweight champion in both of them, UFC and boxing.”

Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) is scheduled to return against former titlist Joseph Parker on Dec. 23 in Riyadh, on a card that would also feature former titlist Anthony Joshua in a separate bout against Otto Wallin.  

Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.