In 2017, UFC fighter Conor McGregor transcended MMA by drawing the gaze of one of the GOATs of boxing in the shape of Floyd Mayweather.

After much back and forth on social media, they collaborated in a game-changing money-making scheme - a boxing fight putting star power above sporting integrity.

Since then, we’ve gone off the deep end.

We’ve now reached 2021. After over a year dealing with a catastrophic global pandemic, the world is losing its mind. Top YouTubers have harnessed their clout and set their sights on the weary boxing community. In some cases, they’ve nabbed astronomical pay-days dwarfing those gained by most world champion MMA stars by cleverly cherry-picking their opponents.

This triggered a tsunami of MMA fighters, boxers and celebrities calling each other out, all lured by the prospect of an easy payday.

Although the McGregor/Mayweather bout kicked things off, the success of the YouTubers flirting with boxing has really caused anarchy in the MMA and boxing ranks. Boxers and MMA fighters have increasingly set their crosshairs on each other, notably with their biggest heavyweight stars calling each other out.

Boxer Tyson Fury and MMA fighter Francis Ngannou have recently expressed a strong desire to cross between their respective sports to face one another.

Fury actually claimed he was doing MMA training, although later poured cold water on competing under full MMA rules. He did state that he would be open to having a fight which would resemble something akin to a kickboxing bout, with no wrestling.

So, naturally, our minds wonder what could be. Fear not, because the mega-clash has been simulated in EA’s UFC 4.

The simulation proves that games can’t be taken as an accurate reflection of reality (or EA games anyway!)

Fury, who has never been known for being a knockout artist, despite what he did to Deontay Wilder in their rematch, seems to bully Ngannou, landing several huge hooks and uppercuts throughout the bout.

Hilariously, Fury also knocks the more muscular Ngannou down several times, controls him on the ground and dominates with ground and pound strikes.

Eventually, Fury lands a brutal KO to dethrone the MMA heavyweight champion, leaving him curled up like something you'd see from a horror movie.

Let’s be honest, despite Fury’s claims to the contrary, there’s no way he gets in the Octagon to compete with a killer like Ngannou in a sport in which you can be kicked and elbowed in the face, or destroyed by heavy ground and pound strikes. That would be too big a risk for too scant a reward, while boxing is so clearly lucrative.

However, Ngannou may well pop over for a boxing clash that would have many tuning in to see these two giants go at it.

We all know how that would turn out!