Dana White has directed a brutal dig at Francis Ngannou following his knock-out defeat to Anthony Joshua.
Dana White has directed a brutal dig at Francis Ngannou following his knock-out defeat to Anthony Joshua.
On Friday, Joshua delivered a destructive second-round knockout win over Ngannou in Saudi Arabia, having also floored the former UFC champion in the first round and early in the second.
Joshua’s devastating knockout punch saw Ngannou appear to be out before he hit the canvas, with the Cameroonian requiring medical attention.
Ngannou, widely considered among the hardest-ever punchers in UFC, made his boxing debut in October against WBC and linear champion Tyson Fury.
He dropped the Briton, only to be defeated by a controversial points decision.
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This time around, however, Joshua taught Ngannou a boxing lesson – something which did not come as a surprise to UFC chief White.
In the wake of Joshua’s knockout, White said in a press conference: “If Fury trained for the [October] fight rather than showing up looking like he ate Tyson Fury, that’s probably the way that fight would’ve ended too.
“You know how I feel about crossovers into boxing. That’s how they end. Just like that.”
In 2021, upon being crowned UFC heavyweight champion, Ngannou had one fight remaining on his UFC contract and chose not to sign an extension.
“If Fury trained for the fight and didn’t show up and look like he ate Tyson Fury, that’s probably the way that fight would’ve ended, too.” Dana White reacts to Francis Ngannou’s KO loss vs. Anthony Joshua.
After beating Ciryl Gane, he turned down another deal that would have seen him earn around $8million (£6.24million) for a Jon Jones fight and instead signed a lucrative partnership deal with PFL which also allowed him to pursue boxing.
Joshua has encouraged the 37-year-old to continue boxing in the wake of his second defeat in as many bouts.
“When I saw the fight with Tyson Fury I thought ‘I want some of that’. [Ngannou] is a great champion and this doesn’t take anything away from his capabilities,” said Joshua.
“I told him not to leave boxing. He’s two fights in and he’s fought the best.”
