Conor McGregor may disagree with Francis Ngannou’s decision to leave UFC, but that doesn’t mean “Notorious” isn’t giving “Predator” a puncher’s chance against Tyson Fury later today (Sat., Oct. 28, 2023) live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ngannou, who is widely regarded as one of the biggest power punchers in all of combat sports, will be making his professional boxing debut on Saturday against the heavyweight champion of all the world. While Ngannou carved out a great career in UFC and stopped a laundry list of legendary heavyweight fighters, nothing can quite prepare him for a fight against Fury. That’s because “Gypsy King” is that good and has made some of the most dangerous heavyweight boxers in the world look average at best.
Still, Ngannou has a weapon that can completely even the playing field, disrupt Fury’s movement and output, and deliver a shocking finish to Saturday’s fight. That would be his world-class punching power. The same world-class punching power that broke the world record back in 2017 (see it HERE). Ngannou will have to find a way to land his heralded power in order to reap the benefits, but he’ll have more than a few chances to do it.
McGregor, who paved the way for MMA superstars crossing over into professional boxing, also believes that Ngannou can deliver a knockout blow to upset Fury. “Notorious” isn’t claiming that Ngannou has better boxing skills than “Gypsy King,” but he believes emotions will be high for the Fury Clan and Ngannou could put himself in the right place at the right time.
The Notorious heads to The Kingdom #furyngannou pic.twitter.com/dZOCQMXvkI
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 26, 2023
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 26, 2023
“Francis has power,” said McGregor via Twitter (audio recordings above). “Francis has big power with a striker’s mentality. If it gets a bit tougher for him in the later rounds, the striker mentality will withstand versus if it was a mixed martial artist’s mentality. With power, with that anything can happen.”
Fury is currently a -1400 betting favorite (official odds HERE), but do you believe Ngannou has the chance to deliver one of his patented power shots and put a stop to boxing’s heavyweight king?
Sound off!
For much more on this weekend’s “Fury vs. Ngannou” card click here.