The highly-anticipated “Battle of the Baddest” unfolded on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — and the heavyweight showdown between boxing champ Tyson Fury and ex-UFC champ Francis Ngannou did not go according to plan.
In fact, it exceeded most expectations simply by going the distance with Ngannou holding his own throughout. “The Predator” more than held his own, frankly, knocking Tyson Fury down in a fight that saw the mixed martial artist get out to an early lead.
Fury had already been cut earlier in the fight; when he hit the canvas, it caused the crowd to erupt. From that point, there were chants of “Francis” scattered throughout the live crowd, but Fury’s corner urged him not to engage, taking a safer route that saw him claw his way back into the fight.
As the rounds wore on, Ngannou, used to MMA bouts going 15 or 25 minutes, showed obvious signs of slowing. His uppercut, used effectively early in the fight, was seen less, his swings became more telegraphed. Between rounds, his mouth hung open as the chiseled fighter gulped down air. But his strength allowed him to keep the massive Tyson Fury off of him, taking away a key advantage “The Gypsy King” had historically used against opponents.
The tenth and final round saw live odds close to even, and little action playing out. No last-minute knockdown for either man — but Ngannou no doubt had a moral victory just going the distance. Many had expected his best path to victory to be an early KO; instead, he held his own against the best heavyweight boxer on the planet in the first boxing match of his career.
The scorecards had Ngannou up 95-94 from one judge, in fact — but that score was superseded by 96-93 and 95-94 scores going Fury’s way, giving him the split decision win.
Still, what played out in Saudi Arabia on Saturday was arguably the best example of a boxing-MMA crossover fight, one that was actually competitive and not a forgone conclusion. And it appears Ngannou may opt to try his hand at boxing again. While it is expected that he will make his PFL debut next year, a clearly satisfied Francis Ngannou stated post-fight that “I might have come out short today, I might be wounded, but I’m not bested yet. I can fight. I can fight.”
“This was my first boxing match. Great experience. I’m not giving any excuse, I know I came up short. But I’m going to go back and work harder,” said Ngannou, adding he plans to “come back stronger.”
“Now I know I can do this sh*t. So get ready. The wolf is in the house.”
Given he went the distance with the lineal heavyweight champion, if Ngannou does choose to box again, he could find himself contending with another top-ranked opponent.
As for Tyson Fury, he was sure to give Ngannou his due. Admitting that being knocked down wasn’t in the script, the Brit added that Ngannou was “a lot better boxer than we thought he would ever be.”
Fury is next expected to face Oleksandr Usyk, who was in the house in Riyadh on Saturday.
