Well, it had to happen sometime. A hungry and aggressive Anthony Joshua brutally halted Francis Ngannou’s fairytale dream of being a multi-sport champ. It took a little over two rounds for the beating to be mercifully concluded, but more than that, it cemented that MMA fighters going into boxing was, is, and will always be a bad idea. Ngannou was bewildered by the clean footwork and educated feints in the first round, catching a beautiful straight right that dropped the former UFC heavyweight champ. From then on, it was purely academic. Joshua, smelling blood in the water then proceeded to dismantle Ngannou systemically, leading to a vicious overhand right that put out Francis’ lights out in the second round.
So what’s in store for both men? For Joshua, it’s got to be a fight with Fury. The Englishman all but called out the champ and it looks like it could be the only logical fight to make. The fight markets itself, either way. It’s one of the biggest fights in the world of boxing and if the Saudis are willing to shell out the requisite paychecks, then it should be a no-brainer that we get Fury vs Joshua sometime in the fall.
For the big man from Cameroon, it’s time to go back to MMA now. Enough of the boxing experiment. He’s already made bank and is probably set for life from the Fury and now the Joshua fight so it’s not about the money anymore. Does he want to risk brain damage for another boxing bout with Deyontay Wilder? Sure, there’ll be a sweet payday at the end of it but is it worth being humiliated in a sport that isn’t your own? There’s a huge threat in the form of Renan Ferreira back in the PFL and the right move for Ngannou to make here would be to go back to a sport that does not limit his skillset.
Where do we go from here?
What Ngannou has done in these past few years is truly incredible. He was able to step out from the shadow of the UFC and bet on himself to win and win big he did. Whatever criticism comes his way now is all white noise. The man made it this far from the sand pits of Cameroon to chasing a $10 million paycheck in a losing effort. He put himself in a position to maximise his drawing power and has made it.
The interesting thing here is his eventual return to MMA. He’s got a scary test in front of him in the current PFL heavyweight champ, Renan Feriera. A knockout machine who is even bigger than Ngannou, Ferreira hits hard and with this KO loss, who knows how Francis’ durability will hold up? He has a legendary chin in MMA but after a nasty knockout like the one he suffered, we just don’t know if he can take any more heavy shots. Only time will tell. For now, rest easy, champ.
