RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Francis Ngannou appears to be taking his crushing knockout loss to Anthony Joshua in stride.
Ngannou (0-2) entered the massive showdown against Joshua (28-3) in the featured bout of Knockout Chaos at Kingdom Arena with high confidence on the heels of his performance against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Although Ngannou recorded a split decision loss in October, he went the distance and scored a knockdown.
However, things were vastly different against Joshua. Ngannou was knocked down three times, the last of which put him out cold in Round 2.
“He was quite special because he stopped me,” Ngannou said about Joshua at the post-fight news conference. “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.”
Despite the disappointing result in his second appearance in the boxing ring, Ngannou showed up to the post-fight conference, seemingly in good spirits. When asked about the punch that put him out, Ngannou joked that he didn’t feel the punch.
"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
A return to MMA is on the table for Ngannou, and one that the PFL expects to occur later in 2024. Renan Ferreria, who won the 2023 heavyweight season and defeated Ryan Bader at PFL vs. Bellator: Champions for the right to face Ngannou, has said he will be waiting.
In the wake of a brutal loss, Ngannou was non-committal about what’s next, but assured boxing will remain in his plans.
“As of right now, I’m going to go home, get some rest, process what just happened,” Ngannou said. “You know, this has been a hell of a day since this morning. I’ll process it and see what is the next step. But maybe MMA, but you can be sure that I’m not done here. Absolutely not. I’m not done.”
Ngannou’s last MMA fight was his final UFC appearance in January 2022. He defeated Ciryl Gane to retain the heavyweight title at UFC 270, which was later vacated after deciding to not re-sign with the promotion due to the restrictive nature of the contract.
“The Predator” gained the freedom to box while signing with PFL for MMA competition. Ngannou is two fights in to his boxing experiment and shot straight for the top, jumping straight in with the Fury’s and Joshua’s of the boxing world. While his paydays have been lucrative, his record currently has a zero in the win column.
“I was just on my way climbing up until I got stopped by A.J.,” Ngannou said. “Congratulations, by the way. That was a clean one.”
For more on the fight, visit MMA Junkie’s hub for Joshua vs. Ngannou.
