Francis Ngannou Vows To Knock Down Tyson Fury In Fight, 'Gonna Hit The Canvas'

Francis Ngannou is guaranteeing Tyson Fury will "hit the canvas" in their upcoming fight ... telling TMZ Sports that one of his punches will send the heavyweight champ crashing to the ground.

The former UFC star made the proclamation while outside LAX this week ... two months before he steps into the ring against the undefeated Fury (33-0) in Saudi Arabia.

While he stopped short of ensuring it will be a KO -- he told us it wouldn't shock him if that ends up being the case.

"He's good at coming back up," Ngannou said. "We gonna find out how good he is -- but he's gonna hit that canvas."

While it might seem unlikely -- it is, after all, Ngannou's first-ever pro boxing bout and Fury is still at the top of his game -- the MMA fighter has been taking the fight very seriously. He said he's been studying Fury extensively ... and he's also been training with Mike Tyson.

"I'm super ready," Ngannou told us. "I'm very excited about that fight. I'm getting ready. From Saturday, we're 9 weeks out, a good amount of time to get those hands fast [and] strong."