Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou left MMA to try boxing and made his sweet science debut in October 2023. His first test was against Tyson Fury, one of the modern era's best heavyweight boxers. No one expected Ngannou to win and everyone was shocked when he put on a competitive performance against Fury, even dropping him in the third round.
Now, nearly a year later, Ngannou is preparing to return to MMA but has reflected on the viral moment from his fight with Fury.
Many fans had wondered how difficult it was for Ngannou to not kick into MMA mode at that moment and join Fury on the canvas for a ground-and-pound finish. Ngannou laughed off the question revealing it was easy for him to stay in boxing mode after years competing in MMA.
"No, no, no, my instinct didn't kick in," Ngannou laughed while speaking with DAZN News. "I knew exactly where I was at. I knew, yeah, I knew exactly where I was. Basically, I've been training for it. I have done a lot of boxing training or sparring.
"I even sometimes in [MMA] sparring we would just do boxing and maybe because somebody is hurt, like has a knee hurts, and he can't kick, or can't take a kick, and you know that stuff. So you really learn how to make different things. You know, like, if you have a sparring partner that has a new issue, and then you kick him, then you know he's hurt, so you really have to be mindful of those rules."
Ngannou will fight under MMA rules again on Oct. 19 when he takes on PFL 2023 heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira live on DAZN.
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