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Francis Ngannou suffered the first knockout loss of his combat sports career when he faced Anthony Joshua in the boxing ring on March 8.
'The Predator' was dominated by his opponent from the start and the performance was in stark contrast to Ngannou's superb showing against Tyson Fury in October, 2023.
In the weeks after his defeat to 'AJ', former UFC champion Demetrious Johnson claimed that with six months of MMA training, Joshua could defeat the Cameroonian in an MMA fight.
The comments sparked outrage from fans, with the consensus being that a professional boxer stood no chance against a professional MMA fighter in an MMA fight.
During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, 'Mighty Mouse' doubled down on his previous statement, and debated Ngannou's coach - Eric Nicksick - who also sat down with Helwani for an interview.
The former UFC champion sais this:
"[Joshua] just knocked [Ngannou] the f**k out in a boxing match. Where Francis beat everyone is a boxing match... When I see somebody who can beat somebody in a very dominant fashion in one realm, and he's been very successful in that realm, why can't that person beat them?"
Nicksick was asked for his reaction to Johnson's comments, saying this:
"My reaction is nothing, my reaction is, well if he sees something. What is it that he sees so that I can learn from that and go, 'Okay, we have to hide this hole.'"
He added:
"What he's saying is absolutely true."
Watch Francis Ngannou's coach debate Johnson below from 5:30:
Francis Ngannou should follow the money according to Tom Aspinall
Tom Aspinall recently shared his thoughts on what Francis Ngannou should do next following his brutal KO defeat to Anthony Joshua.
The UFC interim heavyweight champion recently spoke to OLBG, where he suggested that 'The Predator' should choose his next fight based on the financial benefit he will receive.
Aspinall said:
"Those punches that Francis Ngannou got hit with, it was scary to watch wasn’t it, let’s be honest. It looked like he was going to be asleep for a week. It was ridiculous. They were absolute thunderous punches he got hit with. What he’s going to do next is ultimately up to him. If I was in his position, I’d go where the money is - and as far as I’m aware — the money right now is in boxing, so that’s what I’d do." [h/t - MMA Fighting]
