Regardless of his boxing record through two fights, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has no doubts about his ability to compete with the very best inside the ring.
Ngannou has gone 0-2 in pro boxing since departing the UFC as champ in early 2023, but that certainly doesn't show the whole story of his short career in the squared circle to date.
After signing an exclusive MMA deal with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) last May that includes the freedom to box, "The Predator" completed his long-desired foray to the ring five months later to square off against then-WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury.
The Cameroonian went above and beyond expectation, first by knocking "The Gypsy King" down early on and going on to reach the distance in a competitive 10-round affair. Many even believe Ngannou deserved the nod.
While he was able to prove his detractors wrong first time around, Ngannou's sophomore boxing outing didn't go to plan. The ex-UFC star was emphatically beaten by Anthony Joshua this past March, suffering a brutal knockout early into round two.
That result brought Ngannou's doubters back out of the woodwork, with some suggesting he never had a chance against the former two-time unified heavyweight titleholder while branding his performance against Fury as the product of his opponent underestimating him.
According to Ngannou, however, there's not an opponent in the world whom he'd have "zero chance" against...
Ngannou Defends Decision To Box Joshua
During an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, Ngannou reflected on his first two bouts as a pro boxer, which ended in vastly different fashions.
"The Predator" acknowledged the doubt many had leading into his debut opposite Fury, as well as the feelings those same individuals have shared since his brutal setback to Joshua five months later.
It was like, 'Okay, we want it to happen? Then make it happen,'" Ngannou said of his clash with Fury. "I think a lot of people do mistake something. ... If anybody hits you, you're gonna get hurt, you know? Yes, I might not have been doing boxing; I'm not a boxer. But still, I am a fighter. And even if I wasn't a fighter, I can hurt and I can harm somebody.
I was watching and people were like, 'No, he stands no chance, he has zero chance!' There is not a fight on Earth that I have zero chance. That element of zero chance does not exist," Ngannou continued. "If you look at it, I'm a man. Two men together, someone might have more technique, might know the sport. But even if I've never been in the gym, you still better watch out; I still have a chance. Maybe not as much, maybe not equal chance, but I still do have a chance.
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For now, Ngannou will seemingly put down the boxing gloves and return his gaze to the cage, where he made his name as one of the hardest hitters in combat sports.
After 2022 PFL champ Renan Ferreira stopped Bellator kingpin Ryan Bader in seconds this past February, he looks set to cash in on his reward by sharing the cage with Ngannou at an expected pay-per-view event in Saudi Arabia this October.