29 October 2023 , 02:27
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Former UFC champion Israel Adesanya was left wondering what might have been after coming close to winning $170,000 on Francis Ngannou's fight with Tyson Fury.
Ngannou knocked down Fury in the third round of their fight in Saudi Arabia last night but was ultimately on the wrong end of a split-decision defeat. And Adesanya, who was part of Ngannou's team on the night, just missed out on a bumper pay day after his bets totalling $20,000 came up short.
Adesanya had placed one bet of $15,000 on Ngannou to win, which would have returned $123,000, and a second bet of Ngannou to win by KO, which would have brought in $50,000.
Fury came firing out of the blocks in Riyadh and landed a big overhand right in the opening seconds. Ngannou tried to establish his jab early on and there was a clear speed advantage for Fury, who was first to punch in every exchange. The pair exchanged right hands at the end of the first round, but Fury's landed clean whilst Ngannou's didn't.
Both men switched stances to southpaw in the second round and it was Fury who obviously looked more comfortable in the opposite stance. A small cut opened up on Fury's forehead but Ngannou refused to smell blood as he remained patient in his approach. Ngannou put Fury down with a perfectly placed left hook and he goaded the heavyweight champion whilst the Riyadh crowd roared in amazement.
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Fury seemed more urgent after being knocked down as the former UFC champion had already proved his doubters wrong come the midpoint of the fight. Ngannou was beginning to slow down as the rounds went on and Fury's experience started to reign supreme. Fury tumbled to the ground as he lost his footing in the seventh stanza and Ngannou was still disciplined despite his output slowing considerably.
Three rounds remained and Fury was yet to trouble Ngannou with any significant shots and needed to put his foot on the gas. Ngannou landed an excellent flurry and had Fury yet again as the Brit was fighting with his back against the ropes. Ngannou looked to be three minutes away from a stunning victory and Fury needed to go for broke in the final round. After 10 rounds the judges controversially scored it 94-95, 96-93 and 95-94 in favour of Fury.