Tag: Tyson Fury

Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury PPV Reportedly ‘Bombed’ in the United States

Francis NgannouFrancis Ngannou’s closely-contested split decision against Tyson Fury has dominated headlines since the bout went down on October 28,…

Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou’s closely-contested split decision against Tyson Fury has dominated headlines since the bout went down on October 28, but it appears that fight fans weren’t willing to fork over the $80 to watch it.

Per a report from renowned professional wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer, Ngannou vs. Fury, appropriately dubbed ‘The Battle of the Baddest,’ failed to hit a home run in the U.S. market, bringing in less than 12,000 total pay-per-view buys.

“As far as U.S. interest goes, while there was interest after the fight as Google searches for the weekend had it second behind only the death of Matthew Perry, but as a PPV it bombed. Television PPV buys were about 11,500. We were told a 56,000 figure streaming on ESPN+. Obviously that figure I can’t double check but the television buying figure we have first-hand strongly accurate numbers on it.

“It was ahead of what the KSI vs. Tommy Fury and Logan Paul vs. Dillon Danis fight did on U.S. television PPV. These fights may have done substantially better in the U.K. where Tyson Fury, Tommy Fury and KSI are far bigger celebrities. As far as the Ngannou television PPV buyers, 24.3 percent also bought Canelo Alvarez’s fight with Jermell Charlo, 4.8 percent bought the Logan Paul fight, and 1.2 percent bought AEW WrestleDream. Because most WWE buyers watch on Peacock, you can’t make a comparison that is fair past of the WWE actual PPV buyers for Fastlane on television 1.1 percent purchased the Ngannou-Fury fight.

“But as far as television PPV buys, this show was slightly below (may end up about the same or slightly head) WWE Fastlane for buyers through cable television or satellite providers, even with Fastlane having most of its viewers on Peacock and not buying it” (h/t MMA News).

Ngannou vs. Fury Fails to bring in U.S. fight fans

If the estimated buyrate of 11,500 proves to be true, it would be the lowest for any Tyson Fury or Francis Ngannou fight in the history of their respective careers, and particularly embarrassing when compared to their most successful events in the U.S. thus far.

After contesting his split decision loss to ‘The Gypsy King’ in Riyadh, Francis Ngannou hopes to run it back with Tyson Fury in the squared circle as soon as possible. Unfortunately, if these numbers from Meltzer are to be believed, there’s a good chance a rematch never happens.

At least, not inside a boxing ring.

Exclusive – Luke Thomas Details The fallout from Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury: ‘It Has been incredible’

Francis NgannouFans, fighters, and members of the media are all still marveling over Francis Ngannou’s incredible performance against WBC heavyweight…

Francis Ngannou

Fans, fighters, and members of the media are all still marveling over Francis Ngannou’s incredible performance against WBC heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury.

Returning to combat sports for the first time in nearly two years, ‘The Predator’ faced an almost insurmountable uphill battle, strapping on the eight-ounce gloves for the very first time to take on perhaps the greatest boxer walking the planet. What ensued was a nail-biting affair that saw Francis Ngannou not only hold his own but at times dominate ‘The Gypsy King’ during their 10-round affair.

Things took an especially dramatic turn in the third round with Ngannou landing a counter-left that sent Fury crashing to the canvas.

Though Ngannou came up short on the scorecards, losing the bout via a razor-thin split decision, ‘The Predator’ made his statement loud and clear.

Speaking with Mike Owens in a LowKick MMA exclusive interview, renowned MMA journalist Luke Thomas of Morning Kombat shared his take on the contest and the fallout that ensued.

“Dude, how little did we understand about Francis? How little did we understand about what these crossovers can do? How little did Tyson Fury understand what this could be? No one really predicted it except maybe Francis and his team,” Thomas said. “It was one of those moments when everybody was wrong. When MMA experts are wrong. Boxing experts are wrong. Fans are wrong. The media is wrong.

“It’s one of those moments where you should really look around and think about why. It’s more than just, ‘Well one guy was the champ and the other guy never boxed before.’ That’s the obvious answer, but there’s more to the story than that. It was a combat sports earthquake. It was shattering to a lot of prevailing ideas and talking points. The fallout has been incredible.”

Even after the loss, Francis ngannou’s stock has risen to incredible heights

Despite taking a loss, Francis Ngannou’s stock has skyrocketed with both the boxing and MMA worlds desperate to book his next fight.

“I don’t think a fighter’s stock has increased this much after a loss. Brock Lesnar also got a lot of credibility when he fought Frank Mir,” Thomas added. He got knee-barred the first time he fought Frank Mir, but there were a lot of folks who were like, ‘Wow, he can do a little bit here.’ But even that is not quite like this.

“This was much bigger in scale. This was much bigger in celebrity. In pomp and circumstance and cost, and everything. It was much bigger.”

In the days since his scrap with Tyson Fury, Francis Ngannou revealed that a fight with heavyweight knockout artist Deontay Wilder is in the works. Other names in the mix include division standouts Anthony Joshua and Joe Joyce. ‘The Predator’ is also expected to compete inside the PFL Smart Cage in 2024 after signing a blockbuster deal with the promotion earlier this year.

“Francis did what we thought was genuinely impossible and he brought it to real life,” Thomas said. “I don’t know what you call that, but it’s rare.”

Watch the full interview with Luke Thomas below:

Joe Rogan condemns judge’s 96-93 scorecard in favor of fury against Ngannou: ‘[He] should go to jail’

Francis NgannouJoe Rogan was left outraged by one particular scorecard following Francis Ngannou’s entertaining 10-round scrap with Tyson Fury in…

Francis Ngannou

Joe Rogan was left outraged by one particular scorecard following Francis Ngannou’s entertaining 10-round scrap with Tyson Fury in Riyadh.

Emanating from Kingdom Arena in the Saudi Arabian capital, Ngannou delivered a spellbinding performance against one of the greatest boxers in the sport today. Throughout the 30-minute affair, ‘The Predator’ stifled Fury’s offense, busting open the reigning WBC heavyweight champion and even knocking him down in the third round with a well-timed counter left hand.

Despite all his success, Ngannou fell short of scoring the upset, losing on two of the three judges’ scorecards. Judges Alan Krebs and Ed Garner scored it the same 95-94 with Krebs favoring Fury while Garner had it for Ngannou. But it was Juan Carlos Pelayo’s 96-93 score in favor of ‘The Gypsy King’ that had everyone doing a double take, including Rogan who shared his unfiltered frustration over the score.

“Francis Ngannou had never had a boxing match ever in his life, had zero boxing matches, but he was the UFC heavyweight champion, knocked down Tyson Fury in the third round, beat him up in the eighth round,” the longtime UFC commentator said on his ‘The Joe Rogan Experience‘ podcast alongside guest Elon Musk.

“Most people, including me, thought he should’ve won the decision – including most boxers, most boxing pundits. He lost by one point on one judge’s scorecard. He won on one judge’s scorecard, and another judge, who should go to jail, had it 96-93 for Tyson Fury, which is f*cking outrageous.”

Francis Ngannou Flips the Script

Francis Ngannou walked into the bout as a whopping +750 underdog, but by the time the tenth round rolled around, ‘The Predator’ had flipped the script and was listed as the live odds favorite.

“We thought (Fury) was going to run him over because he’s the boxing heavyweight champion,” Rogan continued. “‘There’s no way this guy can box with me.’ He even said at the beginning of the fight, ‘It’s time to go to school,’ and then Francis said at the end of the fight, ‘You are a sh*tty professor’” (h/t Yahoo! Sports).

Following Ngannou’s success in his squared circle debut, fight fans are already clamoring for the former UFC heavyweight champion to try and make a real run in the sweet science, many of them suggesting a fight against knockout artist and three-time Tyson Fury opponent Deontay Wilder.

Daniel Cormier doubts UFC is upset after Francis Ngannou boxing fight display: ‘Why would they be?’

Daniel Cormier defends UFC over Francis Ngannou boxing why would they be upsetFormer two-weight UFC champion and color-commentator, Daniel Cormier doubts the organization are envious in any way of former heavyweight…

Daniel Cormier defends UFC over Francis Ngannou boxing why would they be upset

Former two-weight UFC champion and color-commentator, Daniel Cormier doubts the organization are envious in any way of former heavyweight titleholder, Francis Ngannou, following the Cameroonian’s stunning performance in an eventual split decision loss to world champion, Tyson Fury in his professional boxing debut over the course of the weekend.

Making his first competitive appearance since he headlined UFC 270 back in January of last year in a title unification victory over former interim champion, Ciryl Gane, Ngannou entered the squared circle for the first time against WBC heavyweight titleholder, Fury over the course of last weekend in Saudi Arabia.

Featuring for the first time since departing the UFC in unceremonious circumstances back in January of this year, the Batié native received massive plaudits for his performance against the undefeated, Fury, dropping the Morecambe native with a third round knockdown, albeit suffering a split decision loss. 

Daniel Cormier defends UFC amid praise for Francis Ngannou

And with many waxing lyrical on Ngannou’s future and display against Fury off the back of the Riyadh pairing, the above-mentioned Hall of Fame inductee, Cormier has claimed the UFC has nothing to be jealous or envious about, considering he is no longer on their promotional books.

“There’s this idea that the UFC is upset that Francis Ngannou did what he did [against Tyson Fury],” Daniel Cormier said during an episode of DC & RC. “Why would they be? Francis Ngannou uplifted the entire sport last weekend. Francis Ngannou went out there as a mixed martial arts world champion and fought the lineal heavyweight champion of the world, and lost by split decision.” 

“Even though Tyson Fury won the ‘boxing match’ because he won the ‘boxing match’, he did not win a fight,” Cormier explained. “He didn’t win the fight against Francis Ngannou. Francis won that. He won the ‘boxing match’, and he won the scorecards. Who ultimately lost the night the night was Tyson Fury. Francis won.” 

Do you agree with Daniel Cormier’s view on Francis Ngannou and the UFC?

Report – Tyson Fury now set to fight Oleksandr Usyk in February amid damage suffered in Francis Ngannou clash

Tyson Fury now set to fight Oleksandr Usyk in February after suffering cuts in Francis Ngannou boutAmid a difficult outing against former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou last weekend in Saudi Arabia, undisputed WBC heavyweight…

Tyson Fury now set to fight Oleksandr Usyk in February after suffering cuts in Francis Ngannou bout

Amid a difficult outing against former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou last weekend in Saudi Arabia, undisputed WBC heavyweight championship holder, Tyson Fury is now expected to fight with fellow titleholder, Oleksandr Usyk in a title unification bout in February of next year – following the initial cancellation of their December 23. clash. 

Fury, who headlined a Riyadh Season card in the Middle East over the course of last weekend, managed to land a close, hugely-debated split decision win over Cameroonian knockout artist and professional boxing debutante, Francis Ngannou over the course of 10 rounds.

However, it proved far from plain sailing for Morecambe native, Tyson Fury throughout the bout, with the British heavyweight suffering a shocking knockdown in the third round, courtesy of a check left hook from Ngannou in close, resulting in a 10-8 round in favor of Ngannou. 

And in the immediate aftermath of his hard-fought win over Ngannou, Fury, who had suffered a cut on his forehead and a significant blackened eye, was met in the ring by Usyk – before his promoter, Frank Warren confirmed a December 23. fight would be shelved.

“It will go ahead but it will not be on the 23rd.” Frank Warren told said. “It was crazy for some people to suggest that it could still go ahead on the 23rd. … Fury said in the ring he would fight on the 23rd – and he would do it – but he needs protecting from himself and that’s my job.” 

Tyson Fury – Oleksandr Usyk clash pushed to February

And according to a report from ESPN this week, Fury is now expected to fight Ukraine favorite, Usyk in February instead of the end this year – with the pairing still expected to take part in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to boot. 

Who wins in February in Saudi Arabia: Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk?

Video: Oleksandr Usyk reacts to tyson fury’s shocking third-Round knockdown against Francis Ngannou

Oleksandr UsykOleksandr Usyk saw tens of millions of dollars potentially go down the drain while watching Tyson Fury’s scrap with…

Oleksandr Usyk

Oleksandr Usyk saw tens of millions of dollars potentially go down the drain while watching Tyson Fury’s scrap with Francis Ngannou in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.

Usky, the reigning WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight world champion, was in attendance at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh to take in the crossover clash between WBC titleholder Tyson Fury and former UFC heavyweight king Francis Ngannou. Though only a spectator on the night, Usky’s presence at the event was just as much business as it was pleasure.

After months of negotiations, a long-awaited bout between Fury and Usky appears to be on tap for early 2024, but those plans nearly went up in smoke when Ngannou blasted ‘The Gypsy King’ with a counter-left that sent him crashing to the canvas. It was a moment that had onlookers stunned, including Usky, who couldn’t hide his look of concern moments after the shocking knockdown.

Oleksandr Usyk’s Fight with Tyson Fury Moved to 2024

Fortunately, for Usky, Tyson Fury was able to answer the ten-count and stormed back, securing a split decision win over Ngannou, though the result did come with a fair amount of controversy. But that’s pretty much par for the course in the sport of boxing.

With Fury coming out on top, his title unification clash with Oleksandr Usyk is alive and well. However, fight fans will have to wait a bit longer than the previously announced December 23 date. According to boxing promoter Frank Warren, the bout will be moved to early next year, ensuring ‘The Gypsy King’ has enough time to heal and prepare for the contest.

“Tyson can’t be going into a camp after a tough fight like that. That’s eight weeks away. He needs at least a bit of time to get himself, his body, back into shape. Let it heal. Then get into a camp. It will be on early next year,” Warren explained.”‘Riyadh season’ finishes in March, so [Fury-Usyk] could take place up until March.”