With no Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) or Bellator MMA event this weekend, boxing took center stage. But the mixed martial arts (MMA) world was still represented as former UFC Heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, made his highly-anticipated boxing debut against Heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury.
The two big men collided inside Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in a 10-round, non-title fight, which was the first time since Conor McGregor took on Floyd Mayweather that a major MMA star squared up against one of the faces of boxing.
It’s a fight “The Predator” had been lobbying to get for some time now, and one of the main reasons why he left UFC and the 265-pound title behind. And while many (myself included) weren’t giving the big man a chance against Fury, who had yet to taste defeat prior to fight night sitting at 33-0-1, Ngannou nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport.
Indeed, the boxing novice took it to “They Gypsy King,” being the aggressor for the majority of the fight, eventually dropping him in third round, a sight most never expected to see. Throughout the 10 rounds, Fury had some shining moments, but all eyes were on Ngannou, who proved that he was indeed the real deal. Despite his valiant effort, “The Predator” went on to lose a razor-thin split-decision, coming ever-so close from shocking the combat world (highlights here).
Afterward, the majority of the fight scene cried robbery, and rightfully so, but it was much ado about nothing because Fury remained undefeated while Ngannou comes up short in his debut (scorecards here).
But in defeat Ngannou won big because he proved doubters wrong and won over the accolades of his MMA peers, as well as some of those in the boxing world…and the majority of the sports world, for that matter. With that, Ngannou has now opened more doors for himself moving forward, which begs the question:
Where does he go immediately from here?
Before he turned his attention to the boxing world, Ngannou did sign a lucrative, long-term deal with Professional Fighters League (PFL), which means he still has plenty of business to handle in MMA. That said, are there any fights that really interest him right now that will take place inside the Smart Cage? Ante Delija is the current PFL Heavyweight champion, but let’s be real a fight between he and Ngannou doesn’t exactly scream blockbuster.
That leaves Ngannou — and PFL — in a bit of a predicament. Ngannou is adamant he will return to MMA, but the allure of big-time pay-per-view (PPV) boxing fights are now a real possibility since he is now a Top 10 ranked boxer. Even top boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn, has already thrown out the possibility of putting Ngannou up against Anthony Joshua. And let’s not forget, Deontay Wilder and Anthony Ruiz are still out there, as is a rematch with Fury.
All that said, the likeliest probability is that Ngannou will fight in MMA at the beginning of the year before turning his attention to boxing once more because he does have obligations to fulfill with PFL. After that, the possibilities for him are abundant in the boxing world. That said, he’d have to officially get in the win column to keep that party going.
For complete Fury vs. Ngannou results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.