MMA Legend Shares Violent Prediction For Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou
The odds are decidedly against Francis Ngannou to come out on top in his boxing debut against Tyson Fury, but one former UFC title challenger is backing “The Predator” to pull off an upset.
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Ngannou exited the UFC earlier this year while he was still the promotion’s reigning heavyweight champion, before ultimately signing on with the PFL. Fans will still have to wait until next year to see Ngannou make his promotional debut, but this Saturday he’ll make his boxing debut opposite Fury in a massive crossover fight.
Few fans or fighters seem to be giving Ngannou a chance to upset Fury, but this week Ariel Helwani asked retired MMA veteran Alistair Overeem for his thoughts on the matchup and received a surprising answer:
Ngannou will try to pull off a massive upset on Saturday.
(Evan Korn/Top Rank Boxing)
“I believe [Ngannou] is going to win,” Overeem said on The MMA Hour. "I look at fights a little bit different, right? Of course, being in the game for 30 years. But I look at patterns, I look at little details, I look at [it] a little different. And I think Ngannou is gonna surprise the world, shock the world.”
Overeem secured titles in a range of combat sports, but his most remarkable feats came from his transition from MMA to kickboxing. He caused some of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport, including victories over Badr Hari and Peter Aerts.
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"The Demolition Man" is excited to see Ngannou represent MMA when he meets Fury in Saudi Arabia, and he expects the fight to end in a violent knockout:
Ngannou and Overeem met in the UFC in 2017.
(Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)
"People underestimate [MMA] fighters…Boxing is basic, one-dimensional to us. Yes, Tyson is the best, but Francis is a big dude. A very big dude…It’s going to be a brutal force KO…And also, considering I went into K-1 and people didn’t give me [a chance] either. But I went in there as well – we have different mindset as MMA guys, it’s different.”
Overeem knows as well as anyone just how much power Ngannou possesses in his hands. The two heavyweights met in the co-main event of UFC 218 in 2017, and “The Predator” floored Overeem in under two minutes with one of the most violent knockouts in UFC history.
The general consensus among fans and fighters seems to be that Ngannou does have a “puncher’s chance” of upsetting Fury in the boxing ring. Fury’s defensive prowess could very well make it a frustrating night for Ngannou, but that won’t stop fans from tuning in on Saturday to watch one of the biggest combat sports events of the year.
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