Francis Ngannou shook up the combat sports world and his former promotion may now have egg on its face.
The UFC and Ngannou parted ways after the former heavyweight champion completed his contract with a win over Ciryl Gane in January 2022. Ngannou left the title behind, standing behind his desire to enter the boxing ring, which his something that would not happen under UFC contract.
Ngannou moved on by signing with the PFL, and finally competed in his first professional boxing bout where shocked the world with his performance in a split decision loss to WBC heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia.
Many thought Fury would wipe the floor with Ngannou, because after all, he never fought professionally as a boxer. However, Ngannou showed up with a very complete gameplan, knocked down Fury, and won a judge’s scorecard after 10 rounds of action.
The UFC could have been a part of this massive event if they were open to allowing certain fighters the ability to compete in boxing, but that’s just not how they do business (unless you’re Conor McGregor). Instead, Ngannou took a chance on himself, made it work, and is now arguably the hottest name in combat sports after taking one of boxing’s best the distance.
How does the UFC look in this situation? Are they winners, losers, or neither? Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and Brian “Goze” Garcia answer that question with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.
You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode on YouTube or in podcast form below.
For more on the matchup, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Fury vs. Ngannou.
