UFC legend Demetrious Johnson has retracted his controversial prediction over a fantasy MMA fight between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou.
The former UFC flyweight champion came under fire for suggesting Joshua would beat Ngannou in the Octagon despite having no formal MMA training under his belt.
Joshua destroyed Ngannou in the boxing ringGetty
Joshua knocked out Ngannou in the second round when they met in the squared circle in March and ‘Mighty Mouse’ anticipated that the same would happen in MMA due to the Cameroonian’s boxing-heavy style.
“Does Anthony Joshua beat Francis Ngannou in an MMA fight? I think he does,”Johnson said on his YouTube channel shortly after Ngannou and Joshua’s boxing bout.
“It would just be another striking match. AJ understands his distance.
“He understands the void. He has better hands than Francis, and he can make Francis even whiff and miss again.
“Unless Francis is going to change his tactic and go clinch him and wrestle him. But AJ is very athletic.
“He is smaller, he’s more limber. I think he’d be able to stuff the shot and be able to give it to Francis Ngannou.”
But after witnessing Ngannou maul Renan Ferreira on the ground over the weekend to claim the PFL heavyweight crown, Johnson has made a U-turn over his initial prediction.
“Yeah he would of beat the bricks off AJ,” tweeted Johnson.
The Cameroonian cage fighter had been out of action since defending the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in January 2022.
However, there were no signs of ring rust as he dumped Ferreira on his back in the first round and closed the show with some heavy ground and pound.
flyweight great Johnson thought Joshua would do the same in MMAGETTY
But he changed his stance after watching Ngannou flatten FerreiraGETTY
Ngannou lost his 15-month-old son, Kobe, to a fatal malformation on his brain in April and questioned whether he would ever fight again.
But he showed unbelievable mental fortitude in the face of adversity.
Overcome with emotion after the fight, Ngannou was embraced by his team as he wept into their arms.
“I can’t think about anything other than my son Kobe,” a tearful Ngannou said in his post-fight interview.
“I did this fight for him and I’m done so I don’t know.
“I hope they can remember his name because without Kobe I wouldn’t be here tonight…
“It was tough [fighting tonight]. Not only the training camp was tough, but the past two days were very tough and full of emotion.
“I couldn’t do anything without thinking about it. I’m trying to be strong but it’s hard man.”
