Former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou has claimed he regrets not throwing leg kicks in the direction of WBC heavyweight boxing champion, Tyson Fury during their boxing match over the course of the weekend – particularly after replay footage showed the boxer landing an illegal elbow striker during the bout.
Ngannou, a former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, made his return to combat sports over the course of the weekend in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – turning in a masterful performance en route to a close, and highly-contested split decision loss to incumbent and undefeated WBC heavyweight champion, Fury.
Featuring inside the squared circle for the first time in his combat sports career, Ngannou had been sidelined from active competition since unifying the heavyweight titles under the UFC banner back in January of last year in a unanimous decision win over the the then-undefeated, Ciryl Gane.
Heralded for his performance against Morecambe native, Fury over the course of 10 rounds – Ngannou sent the boxing and mixed martial arts world alike into shock in the third round, dropping the former with a massive left hook in close, scoring a knockdown and a clear 10-8 round in his favor to boot.
Francis Ngannou claims he should’ve kicked Tyson Fury during fight
Claiming he believes he won the bout – and furthermore professing that if Fury was honest, he would admit Ngannou won too, the Batié native claims he regrets not throwing at least one leg kick toward the WBC champion, after footage showed the latter landing a stiff, illegal elbow strike across the bridge of the former’s nose.
“He (Conor McGregor) was right, I should have kicked his (Tyson Fury) fk legs, I can’t believe that that (sic) he elbowed me,” Francis Ngannou posted on his official X account.
He was right I should've kick his fk legs, I can't believe that that he elbowed me
https://t.co/j7tdXhxWIE
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) October 30, 2023
Off the back of his win over Ngannou, Fury has now officially seen a title unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk – originally pencilled in for December 23. in Saudi Arabia, shelved and scrapped until 2024 by his promoter, Frank Warren.
What are your thoughts on Francis Ngannou’s boxing debut against Tyson Fury?