Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou took his craft outside an MMA cage and tried his hands at boxing this past weekend. And “The Predator” shocked the world with his performance against WBC heavyweight king Tyson Fury on Oct. 28 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Although he didn’t get his hand raised, Ngannou’s showing as a boxer earned the respect of the combat sports community after he notched one knockdown over the unbeaten “Gypsy King” en route to a razor-thing split-decision defeat.
Remarkably, his tilt with Fury marked the first professional boxing bout of his athletic career whereas Fury improved his record to 34-0-1.
Ngannou has carved a much more illustrious career as a mixed martial artist. He boasts a professional record of 17-3 with 12 victories via KO/TKO, four by submission, and one through decision.
Ngannou became a UFC champion around 8 years after his professional MMA debut
The 37-year-old made his MMA debut in 2013 when he tapped out Rachid Benzina with a first-round armbar at 100% Fight – Contenders 20. The Predator then dropped a unanimous decision to Zoumana Cisse in his next bout later that year with the same promotion.
But, what followed was a run that put Ngannou on the map.
He rattled off four wins in a row — all by stoppage — in smaller promotions before signing with the UFC. In 2015, The Predator entered the Octagon for the first time as a 5-1 prospect. And he needed less than two full rounds to put a stamp on his debut opponent, Luis Henrique Barbosa de Oliveira. The knockout set him up for the biggest fight of his career to that point.
He battled Curtis Blaydes in 2016 and scored a doctor’s stoppage victory after two frames of action.
After earning back-to-back triumphs over Bojan Mihajlovic and Anthony Hamilton, Ngannou took the next step in his MMA career. He was pitted against former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in 2017 and starched him in the first round via TKO. The Predator then closed out that year by knocking out esteemed contender Alistair Overeem.
His six-fight run in the UFC propelled him to his first shot at UFC gold. However, Ngannou’s game didn’t pass Stipe Miocic’s test at UFC 220 in January 2018.
Miocic was the heavyweight champion at the time, and nowadays is regarded by many as the greatest in the division’s history. He met Ngannou in the center of the Octagon and after using his wrestling and grappling through five rounds, Miocic retained his belt by a lopsided unanimous decision.
Later that year, Ngannou lost his bounce-back fight against Derrick Lewis — the last time he tasted defeat in MMA to this point. The Predator unloaded on four combatants in a row, including former divisional champions Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, and the KO/TKO streak was enough to earn him a second crack at becoming an undisputed world champion.
And that’s exactly what he became in 2021 at UFC 260.
Miocic was unable to dominate Ngannou with his wrestling like he did in their first outing, and it led to The Predator brutally knocking out the American.
The last time Ngannou fought in MMA was during his first heavyweight title defense. He bested Ciryl Gane via unanimous decision at UFC 270 in January 2022. After undergoing knee surgery, The Predator parted ways with the UFC and vacated the belt in pursuit of a high-profile boxing match and a more flexible MMA contract. And he got what he was looking for.
Ngannou is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League for MMA, and after his moral victory over Fury, The Predator’s been linked to several big-name boxers, specifically Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.
Published: Oct 30, 2023 06:34 pm