Francis Ngannou’s sophomore boxing match didn’t go according to plan.

The former UFC heavyweight champion shocked the world when he first stepped into a boxing ring as a professional this past October. In Ngannou’s way was one of the best heavyweight boxers of all time, Tyson Fury. “The Predator” didn’t score the win, but his effort in the split decision loss was most memorable thanks to his knockdown of “The Gypsy King” in round two.

Ngannou’s performance against Fury legitimized him as a boxer and his desire to test himself was applauded by the entire combat sports community. So, why not give it another go? That’s what the Cameroon native did this past Friday in Saudia Arabia opposite another current heavyweight great, Anthony Joshua. Unfortunately for the MMA veteran Ngannou, the fight couldn’t have gone any worse as Joshua knocked out Ngannou in the second round.

If the two were to rematch in MMA, one of the sport’s all-time greats and current ONE Championship flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson, feels there’d be no difference in the outcome.

“Does Anthony Joshua beat Francis Ngannou in an MMA fight? I think he does,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “It would just be another striking match. AJ understands his distance. He understands the void. He has better hands than Francis, and he can make Francis even whiff and miss again. Unless Francis is going to change his tactic and go clinch him and wrestle him. But AJ is very athletic. He is smaller, he’s more limber. I think he’d be able to stuff the shot and be able to give it to Francis Ngannou.”

Johnson, 37, has dabbled with cross-promotional challenges to an extent in his career. Before recently getting into pure grappling competitions, Johnson battled Muay Thai icon Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a mixed-rules bout, which he won via second-round rear-naked choke.

“Might Mouse” is undecided on if he’ll continue his MMA career as he nears his 40s, but in the case of the also 37-year-old Ngannou, he’s expected to return to MMA and debut in PFL sometime this year. Johnson doesn’t believe the half-and-half nature of Ngannou’s career at present led to his recent loss. More so, the full 10-round clash with Fury may have just given more to assess.

“I’m not saying Francis has not taken it seriously,” Johnson said. “If I was to take a boxing match, I will probably spend eight months to a year preparing myself for the boxing match. Reason why is because the punches come faster. The movement is different. There’s only one weapon, and you only can use one weapon, right? I can’t use my kicks. I can’t use my knees. I can’t use my elbows. I can’t use my wrestling. How am I going to cross the void when I can’t use all the weapons I’ve been using for the last 18 years?

“Another thing that could have been Francis’ downfall was he had that boxing match with Tyson Fury. So Anthony Joshua got an opportunity to see Francis fight boxing. What he took from the boxing match on Francis vs. Tyson? He probably took, ‘Okay, Francis doesn’t move his head. He doesn’t really move his head. He’s not very light on his feet,’ where Tyson Fury, he’s kind of light on his feet, and Tyson’s trying to avoid the fight. This time, Anthony Joshua got right to work right off the bat, and that’s usually not a good sign if the other opponent doesn’t respond.”

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Billy Quarantillo (18-5) vs. Youssef Zalal (10-5-1); UFC Vegas 89, March 23

Ante Delija (24-5) vs. Valentin Moldavsky (12-3); PFL San Antonio, April 4

Denis Goltsov (32-8) vs. Linton Vassell (24-8); PFL San Antonio, April 4

Liz Carmouche (20-7) vs. Juliana Velasquez (12-2); PFL San Antonio, April 4

Tyrell Fortune (13-2) vs. Daniel James (14-7-1); PFL San Antonio, April 4

Dakota Ditcheva (10-0) vs. Lisa Mauldin (6-3); PFL San Antonio, April 4

Bruno Cappelozza (15-7) vs. Sergei Bilostenniy (11-3); PFL San Antonio, April 4

Taila Santos (19-3) vs. Denise Kielholtz (8-5); PFL San Antonio, April 4

Steve Mowry (10-1-1) vs. Oleg Popov (16-1); PFL San Antonio, April 4

Kana Watanabe (12-2-1) vs. Shanna Young (9-5); PFL San Antonio, April 4

Chelsea Hackett (4-1-1) vs. Jena Bishop (6-0); PFL San Antonio, April 4

Lucas Brennan (9-0) vs. Dimitre Ivy (12-7); PFL San Antonio, April 4

Joshua Van (10-1) vs. Lucas Rocha (17-1); UFC Vegas 90, April 6

Phil Davis (24-7) vs. Robert Wilkinson (17-2); PFL Las Vegas, April 12

Impa Kasanganay (15-4) vs. Alex Polizzi (10-3); PFL Las Vegas, April 12

Clay Collard (24-12) vs. Patricky Pitbull (25-12); PFL Las Vegas, April 12

Mads Burnell (18-5) vs. Michael Dufort (12-4); PFL Las Vegas, April 12

Sadibou Sy (16-7-2) vs. Josh Silveira (12-2); PFL Las Vegas, April 12

Antonio Carlos Jr. (15-5) vs. Simon Biyong (9-3); PFL Las Vegas, April 12

Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (21-7-1) vs. Jakob Nedoh (8-1); PFL Las Vegas, April 12

Bruno Miranda (16-4) vs. Brent Primus (12-3); PFL Las Vegas, April 12

Gadzhi Rabadanov (20-4-2) vs. Solomon Renfro (11-4); PFL Las Vegas, April 12

Jay Jay Wilson (10-1) vs. Adam Piccolotti (14-5); PFL Las Vegas, April 12

Marcelo Nunes (10-2) vs. Giacomo Lemos (8-0); PFL Las Vegas, April 12

Andrey Koreshkov (27-4) vs. Magomed Umalatov (14-0); PFL Chicago, April 19

Brendan Loughnane (27-5) vs. Pedro Carvalho (13-8); PFL Chicago, April 19

Logan Storley (15-2) vs. Shamil Musaev (16-0-1); PFL Chicago, April 19

Gabriel Braga (12-1) vs. Justin Gonzalez (14-3); PFL Chicago, April 19

Goiti Yamauchi (28-6) vs. Neiman Gracie (12-4); PFL Chicago, April 19

Bubba Jenkins (21-7) vs. Kai Kamaka (12-5-1); PFL Chicago, April 19

Adam Borics (18-2) vs. Enrique Barzola (20-7-2); PFL Chicago, April 19

Timur Khizriev (14-0) vs. Brett Johns (20-3); PFL Chicago, April 19

Laureano Staropoli (13-5) vs. Murad Ramazanov (11-0); PFL Chicago, April 19

Don Madge (10-4-1) vs. Kyle Crutchmer (10-2); PFL Chicago, April 19

Kazuma Kuramoto (10-4) vs. Ji Yong Yang (8-1); RIZIN 46, April 29

Makoto “Shinryu” Takahashi (16-2-1) vs. Jung Hyun Lee (4-3); RIZIN 46, April 29

Taichi Nakajima (17-12-1) vs. Soo Chul Kim (21-7-1); RIZIN 46, April 29

Juntaro Ushiku (23-10-1) vs. Shinobu Ota (5-3); RIZIN 46, April 29

Anthony Smith (37-19) vs. Vitor Petrino (11-0); UFC 301, May 4

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FINAL THOUGHTS

It’s slightly easier to believe Joshua would win in MMA after seeing him KO Francis. I say that because of potential ego coming into play that would push Francis to try and stand despite his favorable ruleset. At the same time, I just can’t imagine he’d fight that stupidly.

Thanks for reading!

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