Francis Ngannou suffered one of the worst knockout punches you’ll ever see Friday night against boxing superstar Anthony Joshua in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but at least the former UFC heavyweight champion didn’t feel the final punch.
Ngannou was a betting underdog for his clash with Joshua, but his impressive boxing debut against Tyson Fury last October led fight fans to believe that “Predator” could take out Joshua and continue to shake up boxing’s landscape. Unfortunately for Ngannou, Joshua was there to make a statement. He scored three equally-impressive knockdowns that ultimately lead to Ngannou’s demise.
The third and final knockdown late into the second round sent Ngannou into another dimension and left him motionless on the canvas for quite some time. It was scary, especially considering fight fans have never seen Ngannou rocked let alone knocked unconscious laying on his back. Even fellow fighters took to social media to pray for his health.
Luckily, Ngannou has recovered and even made an appearance during the post-fight press conference. The former UFC heavyweight champion didn’t need to do any additional press after suffering such a knockout blow, but Ngannou was humble in defeat and even joked about his loss to Joshua.
“I didn’t feel the punch. I think that’s what the knockout is about.”
Francis Ngannou cracked jokes after his KO loss to Anthony Joshua. pic.twitter.com/cAqTpdtyBx
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) March 9, 2024
“He was quite special because he stopped me,” said Ngannou. “He did what Tyson Fury couldn’t do. It wasn’t my day. He’s just way better than me today. It sucks, but it is the game. We all know that.
“I didn’t feel the punch. I think that’s what the knockout was about. I don’t feel any pain. That how I know I was knocked out.”
Ngannou, who lost for the first time Friday since a decision loss to Derrick Lewis back in 2018, is now expected to make is return to the cage later this year for his official Professional Fighters League (PFL) debut against Renan Ferreira. We’ll have to wait and see if this knockout loss to Joshua has any effect on Ngannou’a future MMA career.
For complete Ngannou vs. Joshua results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
