FRANCIS NGANNOU is reeling from a blow outside the ring almost as big as his second-round KO from Anthony Joshua inside it.
The MMA legend has plunged down the WBC rankings from tenth to 25th.
The French-Cameroonian, 37, stunned fight fans with his boxing debut - a controversial defeat on a split decision against Tyson Fury last October.
But his resulting high ranking from the WBC was ruined by a one-sided defeat against Joshua this month.
Ngannou needed oxygen afterwards and, more worryingly, revealed he had no memory of being knocked out.
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It's all left his boxing career in doubt, even sparking talk of the former UFC heavyweight champion returning to MMA.
Ngannou has now also been teased on social media after belatedly coming up with an unusual excuse for his humbling against AJ.
Some fans even compared him to Deontay Wilder, who came up with a bewildering array of reasons for losing to Fury.
Ngannou claimed he was the victim of a "trick" - as he was taken to the arena in Riyadh for his Joshua encounter too early.
He told The MMA Hour: "We received a schedule, an email, and then for some reason I was there at least one hour before. But for the fight, at least two hours beforehand.
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"They do this kind of trick to get you tired. I was like cool, I was like, 'Bro, it's okay.'
"I didn't know how important that was, until the fight day that I had to get there two hours before."
