Francis Ngannou record: Height, weight, reach, career stats and more as UFC icon prepares for Saudi showdown with Anthony Joshua
03/03/2024 14:40
Francis Ngannou is rapidly becoming one of the world’s biggest combat sports stars, and his record shows why.
The Predator has conquered UFC and is now turning his hand to boxing, where he’s facing the best of the heavyweight division.
His first professional boxing match came against Tyson Fury, and he’s facing Anthony Joshua next.
However, despite this, his career in MMA isn’t done yet.
Instead, he’s left the UFC and signed with a rival company, so Ngannou is going to continue his career in both the ring and the cage.
Francis Ngannou: Debut and fights so far
In boxing, Ngannou has fought just one person, Fury, in 2023.
It was expected that he would be beaten easily and would be just a tune-up fight for the Gypsy King ahead of his undisputed heavyweight title clash against Oleksandr Usyk.
However, the Cameroonian stunned Fury and the world by knocking the Brit down and keeping up an intense pace for ten rounds before controversially losing via split decision.
In UFC, Ngannou made his debut in 2015 against Luis Henrique.
He beat him inside three minutes before dispatching his next five opponents to set up a title fight with Stipe Miocic in 2018.
Ngannou surprised everyone with his rapid rise and deservedly got a shot at the heavyweight belt.
However, Miocic was too good for the Predator, who lost via unanimous decision.
Later that year, he was back in the octagon and faced Derrick Lewis, looking to get his winning streak back on track and climb up the rankings.
However, he was dealt another blow as Lewis sealed a victory via another unanimous decision.
This was a hefty setback for Ngannou, who had to find a way to rebuild from back-to-back defeats.
Curtis Blaydes, who Ngannou fought at the start of his UFC career, came next in November 2018, and he was dispatched within 45 seconds as the Predator got back on track.
Three more wins followed to set up a rematch with Miocic for the title.
They were the headline event for UFC 260 in March 2021, and Ngannou got one over his old foe.
He claimed the win via a lethal punch that knocked Miocic out to become the new heavyweight champion of the world.
The Cameroonian defended his title in January 2022 against Ciryl Gane.
The bout lasted five gruelling rounds, but Ngannou successfully defended his belt via unanimous decision before leaving UFC to pursue different opportunities.
Francis Ngannou: Wins, losses and record
In boxing, Ngannou’s record reads, one fight, one loss.
In UFC, it reads 14 fights, 12 wins and two defeats.
Eleven of his 12 victories came via TKO/KO/Submission, and his only defeats came through decisions.
Francis Ngannou: Weight, height and reach
Ahead of his fight with Fury, Ngannou weighed in at 272.2lbs.
The 37-year-old stands at 6ft4 [193cm] and has a reach of 83in [211cm].
Francis Ngannou: Next fight
Ngannou will take on Joshua on Friday, March 8.
The ten-round heavyweight fight will take place at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia.
It is being held on Friday because of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but there will still likely be a full crowd and loads of famous faces.
And Ngannou can’t wait, recently claiming that he will knock AJ out.
He said: “Tyson showed that he’s very resilient. I saw him come back from knockdowns like you wouldn’t believe.
“So, I think he’s probably one of the most resistant people out there, and that’s not a disrespect to AJ.
“I don’t believe that AJ would take what Tyson did.
“I asked for this fight. I watched him fight, and then I made a tweet right away.
“Why? Because there was an opportunity, and I know he was going to fight Deontay Wilder, and I saw an opportunity there. I made a tweet for this fight, I was calling for that fight.
“Again, this is my second boxing match and I’m fighting one of the best, one of the top three, after fighting another top three. So in two of my fights in boxing, I’m going to fight potentially the best in the world.”
Ngannou has also joined the Professional Fighters League [PFL] in a lucrative deal that allows him to compete in MMA and boxing.
However, it is a contract that also gives Ngannou a place on the board and a chance to grow MMA globally and put fighters’ interests first.
This means that once the Joshua bout is over, we could see Ngannou back in the cage, or he might keep boxing, it’s a flexible deal designed to benefit Ngannou.
