Francis Ngannou made more money from his critically acclaimed fight with Tyson Fury than he did throughout his entire MMA career.
After spending seven years bodying people inside the Octagon, ‘The Predator’ walked away from the promotion in search of greener pastures. Less than a year later, he cashed in on a big-money fight with perhaps the greatest boxer in the sport today, Tyson Fury.
Emanating from the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, Ngannou delivered a show-stealing performance against the WBC heavyweight world champion and was well compensated in the process.
“First off all, whatever would have been my next fight, from the moment that I left the UFC, was going to be way different from what I made,” Ngannou said on Showtime Sports’ The Last Stand podcast. “Because in the past three years in the UFC, I was in a contract issue that I didn’t want to sign a new contract that would have given me more money, but not enough, right?
“Also the conditions and the terms which would have prevented me from doing boxing, which was one of my ultimate dreams that I wanted to do. So it would have been different, even from my next MMA fight, completely different.
“It’s at least more than everything that I have earned in my life, in my career.”
Since his stunning performance against ‘The Gypsy King’ last month, Francis Ngannou has been one of the most in-demand fighters on the planet, with practically every top heavyweight calling for a clash with the former UFC titleholder.
“I prefer to fight the top fighters,” Ngannou said. “Why did I feel Tyson Fury? Because he was the top of the game. I want the best. I want the big fights. I want a big show. I want everything big. But, at the end of the day, it’s a sport and we do what we have to do.”
👀 Ex-UFC champ Francis Ngannou is storming into the WBC heavyweight rankings despite a single pro boxing match.
💪 It looks like the heavyweight scene's about to heat up with names like Wilder, Joshua, and now Ngannou in the mix. The WBC's rating session on November 15th will… pic.twitter.com/0THoP7QLa4
— READY TO FIGHT (@RTFight_App) November 13, 2023
Francis Ngannou Dubs Tyson Fury the Hardest Hitter He Has Ever Faced
Though he has gone toe-to-toe with some of the heaviest hitters in combat sports, including Derrick Lewis, Cain Velasquez, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Ngannou believes that Tyson Fury was the hardest hitter of them all.
“Fury punches pretty good. I ate some of his shots – he punches very strong. And he was with 10oz gloves, because MMA fights are 4oz gloves. In boxing it’s 10oz. I think, so far, he is the top [hard hitter.]”
Of course, ‘The Predator’ more than held his own against Fury, knocking the big man down in the third round with an impressive counter-left that caught ‘The Gypsy King’ on the top of the head.
“I was [feeling] pretty good,” Ngannou said when asked about seeing Fury hit the mat. “I mean, I have watched Fury many times, I have watched him take a strong hand, go down, unconscious and then come back. So I knew [I could knock him down. I was expecting [more] because I was looking at him, his eyes were open, he looks like he was all conscious.”
Watch the full interview below:
