I got brutally knocked out by Francis Ngannou and I'm backing him to do the same to Tyson Fury
27/10/2023 15:45
Alistair Overeem is backing Francis Ngannou to pull off an almighty upset during his boxing debut against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
The former UFC star will face off against Fury in 'The Battle of the Baddest' in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night – but almost no one gives him any chance of winning.
However, he has found an unlikely ally in one of his former UFC rivals.
Ngannou fought Overeem in a title eliminator five years ago.
The UFC 218 scrap lasted just 102 seconds but is still talked about today as 'The Predator' scored the most famous knockout win of his career.
Ngannou lifted Overeem, who is 6ft 4in and weighs just shy of 18 stone, off his feet with an uppercut KO that is regarded as one of the best in the UFC's 30-year history.
The 37-year-old went on the win UFC gold by doing a similar thing to Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 in March 2021 before parting ways with Dana White's league after just one title defence.
Overeem, who holds wins over Brock Lesnar, Sergei Pavlovich, Fabricio Werdum, Mark Hunt and Frank Mir recently called time on his MMA career and announced his intention to become a politician.
The 43-year-old is refusing to sit on the fence ahead of Fury vs Ngannou.
“Not only a chance — I believe he's going to win," Overeem proclaimed when asked if Ngannou could cause an upset during Wednesday's episode of The MMA Hour.
"Because I look at fights a little bit different, right? Of course, I've been in the game for 30 years. But I look at patterns, I look at some little details, I look at it a little different. And I think Ngannou is going to surprise the world, shock the world.
"Listen, also because people underestimate UFC fighters. They do. MMA fighters, let's call them MMA fighters. There's a lot of details that are in here and boxers are basically one-dimensional to us.
"Yes, Tyson is the best, yes, yes, yes, but Francis is a big dude. Very big dude."
Overeem doesn't expect Ngannou to put on a boxing masterclass, but he does think the Cameroonian KO artist will give Fury his first taste of defeat in brutal fashion.
He added: "It's going to be a brutal force KO.
"I went into K-1 and people didn't give me much of a chance either. But I went in there as well [and won]. We have a different mindset with MMA guys. It's different. It's different."
Fury is so confident Overeem's prediction won't come true he's already signed to face WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in December.
The historic undisputed fight is expected to be confirmed immediately after his bout with Ngannou who has agreed to return to MMA with the Professional Fighters League [PFL] in 2024.
All plans will collapse if Overeem's KO prophecy comes true this weekend.
