Francis Ngannou owes some of his boxing fortune to a famous friend.
The former UFC heavyweight champion made the bold decision to fight out his contract with Dana White’s company, rather than sign a bumper new deal in 2022.
Ngannou’s bold choice paid off as he matched Fury and made millionsGetty
Ngannou was questioned after leaving the promotion to pursue his boxing dream, and bigger paydays against elite heavyweights Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder.
A year later, he’s boxed two of his three dream opponents and made millions despite suffering back-to-back defeats in the squared circle.
Ngannou debuted last October against WBC heavyweight champion Fury and surprised everyone by scoring a knockdown in round three.
However, he ultimately fell to a controversial split decision defeat before booking another big boxing bout against former two-time world champion, Joshua.
They fought in March, and on that occasion, Ngannou was made to look like the novice he is as AJ dropped him twice before scoring a brutal knockout win in round two.
Still, Ngannou walked away from the fight with an estimated £15.75million payday after previously earning £7.86million for facing Fury.
It’s lucky he did because ‘The Predator’ took out a massive loan from his former UFC champion friend Kamaru Usman when he left MMA’s best league.
“He knew about stuff I turned down from the UFC during negotiation,” Ngannou said on the Pound 4 Pound podcast.
“Even my last fight in the UFC, you know I took $600,000 in my last fight in the UFC as opposed to $5million that they were offering for the same fight.
“I was like, ‘Bro.’ And, I was broke, at the time. I owe Usman, I owe him $200,000.”
Ngannou was taught a lesson in his second boxing boutMark Robinson/Matchroom
But he made more than enough money to pay back UsmanIG: francisngannou
If he hasn’t already, Ngannou can now pay back ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ with interest after becoming an incredibly rich man thanks to his bold gamble.
Joshua implored Ngannou to keep boxing immediately after their fight, but he’s chosen to return to MMA for his next fight
The 38-year-old signed an MMA deal with PFL last year and has agreed to make his promotional debut against 6ft 8in Brazilian KO artist Renan Ferreira in Saudi Arabia on October 19.
A return to the ring remains a real possibility for Ngannou in 2025.
In the meantime, he’ll be watching from afar as his two former boxing opponents look to become world champions once again.
Joshua will fight Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title in front of a record-breaking 96,000 fans at London’s Wembley Stadium on Saturday night.
On December 21, Fury will look to recapture the three other heavyweight belts when he takes on WBO, WBA, and WBC champion Oleksandr Usyk.
‘The Gypsy King’ was dropped en route to his first professional boxing loss when the fought Usyk in May – now he’s got a chance at revenge.
Ngannou will be an interested observer, but he’ll have to beat a heavyweight boxing contender before anyone will entertain the idea of him rematching Fury or Joshua.
talkSPORT will bring you exclusive live commentary of the heavyweight clash at Wembley Stadium between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois on Saturday, September 21. Download the talkSPORT app here.
