Despite coming up empty in his first two boxing matches, Francis Ngannou isn’t giving up on competing inside the ropes. In fact, the former UFC heavyweight champion has his eyes set on a rematch with one of those two.
Following the recent Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury heavyweight title fight, Ngannou made it known he wants Fury next. The two squared off in late 2023 with Fury securing a split decision win.
Read more: Oleksandr Usyk Proves Worth, Bests Tyson Fury In Heavyweight Rematch
Like many, Ngannou watched as Usyk picked up his second win this year over Fury. The fight took place from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Usyk earning a unanimous decision after a split the first time.
“I think the fight was pretty close,” Ngannou told Pro Boxing Fans (thanks to MMA Mania for the quotes). “I would have scored the fight closer than that, maybe Usyk still wins. At the end of the fight, I wasn’t sure that anybody is the winner because everybody could have been the winner. From my scorecard, it was closer than that.
“What I want now is Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou. That’s all that matters to me.”
After facing Fury in his boxing debut, Ngannou suffered a knockout loss to Anthony Joshua earlier this year. He returned to MMA, fighting for the first time under the PFL banner. Ngannou earned a win over Renan Ferreira.
It has been a difficult year for Ngannou. He lost his son, 15-month-old Kobe, in April. The death rattled the fighter, who admitted he pondered retirement from competing.
Francis Ngannou Hasn’t Lost In MMA Since 2018
While his boxing career has been a bit of a disappointment, you can’t fault Ngannou for taking on high-level opponents. There is likely nobody the sport has ever seen who fought his first two fights vs. Fury and Joshua, both former champions.
When it comes to MMA, Ngannou is unbeaten since 2018. His losses have come at the hands of former champion Stipe Miocic, contender Derrick Lewis and Zoumana Cisse, which was his second pro fight.
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Ngannou owns wins over the likes of Alistair Overeem, Andrei Arlovski, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Miocic and Ciryl Gane. Overeem, Arlovski, Velasquez, dos Santos and Miocic all held the UFC title while Gane fought for the belt.
