Former undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya was left distraught and scatching his head following last night’s shocking knockout loss for close-friend and fellow former UFC heavyweight titleholder, Francis Ngannou – at the vicious hands of boxing supremo, Anthony Joshua in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner of the Dana White-led UFC, made his sophomore outing in the boxing ring overnight in the Middle East – following a tremendous performance en route to defeat against WBC best, Tyson Fury last August at the same venue.
Francis Ngannou flattened in shuddering loss
However, seeing the curtain draw – potentially definitely on his naive boxing career last night, Cameroonian berserker, Ngannou was both dropped and stopped for the first time in his professional combat sports tenure overnight, with Joshua flattening the former UFC kingpin with an hellacious finish in the second round.
Felled in the first with a piston-like right hand straight from Watford native, Joshua, Ngannou was then caught with a check left hook in the second, sending him briefly to the canvas once more.
However, immediately back on his feet, Ngannou was sent stretched to the floor for a third and ultimately final time, completely unconscious in spectacular fashion.
And claiming he let fans and friends down in his shocking knockout loss, it looks to be back to the drawing board for Ngannou – who is expected to make his PFL (Professional Fighters League) debut later this year in a showcase with recent superfight champion, Renan Ferreira.
Sharing his thoughts on Ngannou’s staggering knockout loss to Joshua in the Middle East, Adesanya was left awestruck in the immediate aftermath of the bout.
“Ah, man – f*cking cold, ah man, damn,” Israel Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “He’s (Francis Ngannou) okay. That second one [knockdown] was bad, but that third one [knockdown]. You could see it in his face – ‘cause the first one he was fine, that was a flash [knockdown].
What’s next for Francis Ngannou after his KO loss to Anthony Joshua?