Francis Ngannou owes some of his boxing fortune to a famous friend.
The former UFC heavyweight champion made the bold decision to fight out his contract with Dana White’s company, rather than sign a bumper new deal in 2022.
Ngannou was questioned after leaving the promotion to pursue his boxing dream, and bigger paydays against elite heavyweights Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder.
A year later, he’s boxed two of his three dream opponents and made millions despite suffering back-to-back defeats in the squared circle.
Ngannou debuted last October against WBC heavyweight champion Fury and surprised everyone by scoring a knockdown in round three.
However, he ultimately fell to a controversial split decision defeat before booking another big boxing bout against former two-time world champion, Joshua.
They fought last Friday, and on that occasion, Ngannou was made to look like the novice he is as AJ dropped him twice before scoring a brutal knockout win in round two.
Still, Ngannou walked away from the fight with an estimated £15.75million payday after previously earning £7.86million for facing Fury.
It’s lucky he did because ‘The Predator’ took out a massive loan from his former UFC champion friend Kamaru Usman when he left MMA’s best league.
“He knew about stuff I turned down from the UFC during negotiation,” Ngannou said on the Pound 4 Pound podcast.
“Even my last fight in the UFC, you know I took $600,000 in my last fight in the UFC as opposed to $5million that they were offering for the same fight.
“I was like, ‘Bro.’ And, I was broke, at the time. I owe Usman, I owe him $200,000.”
If he hasn’t already, Ngannou can now pay back ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ with interest after becoming an incredibly rich man thanks to his bold gamble.
Joshua implored Ngannou to keep boxing immediately after their fight, but it’s currently unclear if he plans to do that or return to his first sport.
The 37-year-old signed an MMA deal with PFL last year, and they have named 6ft 8in Brazilian KO artist Renan Ferreira as his debut opponent.
Ngannou could fight Ferreira later this year or decide to give boxing one more go after a lucrative but ultimately failed short run in the sport.
