Francis Ngannou launches a Superman punch in the 10th Round against tyson fury

Francis NgannouFrancis Ngannou proved he could hold his own in the world of boxing, but that didn’t stop the former…

Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou proved he could hold his own in the world of boxing, but that didn’t stop the former UFC heavyweight champion from busting out an MMA-style strike in the closing moments of his scrap with Tyson Fury on Saturday night.

After nearly two years on the shelf, ‘The Predator’ returned to combat sports, stepping inside the squared circle at Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia for a highly anticipated crossover clash with reigning WBC heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury.

Throughout the 30-minute affair, Francis Ngannou managed to stifle Fury’s offense, drawing blood, and even dropped ‘The Gypsy King’ in round three with a counter left hand that caught his opponent off guard. Despite all of that, Ngannou came up short on the scorecards, suffering a split decision loss in his first foray into the sweet science.

In the final round, Ngannou was listed as the favorite to come out on top via the live odds and appeared to be full of confidence. So much so that he launched a Superman punch with 35 seconds left on the clock.

Conor McGregor Marvels at Francis Ngannou’s Third-Round knockdown of Tyson Fury

Speaking with TNT Sports following the bout, Irish megastar Conor McGregor marveled at Francis Ngannou’s performance, particularly his third-round knockdown of the undefeated titleholder.

“Lovely shot, it caught him in the back of the head,” McGregor said of Ngannou’s third-round knockdown. “More off balance as well, but fair play to Tyson. He is a tough man as well. Stong chin. And Jesus, Ngannou’s a poweful boy as well. Tyson couldn’t hold him. Tyson could not hold him. He kept; he was just missing with that back hand. Great fight. Great to watch. Heavyweight boxing is exciting!”

With their contest now in the books, Tyson Fury will turn his attention toward a long-awaited title unification clash with Ukrainian boxing star Oleksandr Usky. The bout is tentatively scheduled to go down on December 23 in Saudi Arabia, a mere eight weeks away.