UFC star Francis Ngannou could well be set for a fight against Britain's Anthony Joshua in 2018, according to the Cameroonian's manager Dewey Cooper.

Ngannou is one of the biggest stars in UFC right now, and produced a sensational fight in Denver recently to knockout Alistair Overeem, and the power he has shown in recent fights has put him right in contention to fight champion Stipe Miocic.

But, it would appear he has his eyes set on other challenges as well, and that is to fight the heavyweight champion of boxing, which would well be Anthony Joshua. 

"He has punching power," Cooper told MMA Junkie.

"Anyone that has that equalizer will fare well. If he spends more time and takes it seriously, trains hard, he could be a champ in boxing also.

"Everyone was so enthralled about the Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather fight.

"I’d like to see Francis about one year from now fight whoever the heavyweight champion is, whether it be Deontay Wilder or Anthony Joshua."

Ngannou posted the hardest punch on record prior to his face-off with Overeem at UFC 218, and may well prove to be handy against Joshua or Wilder despite the pair of them being two of the most powerful in the world. 

The Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather fight was one of the most hyped and talked about confrontations of recent times, generating unprecedented levels of interest that perhaps nobody was quite expecting.

There is perhaps the expectancy that a fight between Joshua and Ngannou could produce a similar level of interest, although the British fighter has so far not taken any notice of champion Miocic's recent challenge towards him.

Joshua is currently 20-0 with 20 straight knockouts, Wilder earning 38 stoppages from 39 fights.

A Joshua vs Ngannou battle would certainly be a very interesting one to watch, and would only enhance our star's level.

But, equally, it could make Ngannou an even bigger name himself if he could take on and beat Joshua, mark himself out as an opponent that everyone would be wary of in the future.

Maybe it wouldn't reach Mayweather and McGregor levels of interest, but it would still be an awesome spectacle.