20, October 2024
Francis Ngannou KO Renan Ferreira 0
Francis Ngannou made a dominant return to MMA as he brutally dismantled Renan Ferreira in his first fight inside the cage for two years. Against a backdrop of personal heartache following the passing of his infant son, Kobe, earlier this year, ‘The Predator’ delivered a devastating performance to reassert his claim as the most dominant heavyweight on the planet.
Ngannou departed the UFC in 2022, while still reigning as the promotion’s heavyweight champion. A dispute over contract terms led him to make an unexpected leap into the world of boxing – where he had a surprising amount of success.
Sharing the ring with Tyson Fury in October 2023, the Cameroonian equipped himself well, even knocking down ‘The Gypsy King’ before dropping a close decision on the judges’ scorecards. His return to the squared circle against Joshua earlier this year, however, did not go to plan – as Ngannou was knocked out cold inside two rounds.
GIVEMESPORT’s Key Statistic: Francis Ngannou hasn’t lost an MMA fight since July 2018, when he was defeated by Derrick Lewis.
Back in the more familiar surroundings of the MMA cage in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, though, Ngannou scooped the PFL Heavyweight Superfight Championship by pounding Ferreira unconscious in the first round. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion set the tone with an early takedown, secured dominant top position and then fought off Ferreira’s attempt at a triangle choke.
He was then free to unleash a furious barrage of strikes on his grounded opponent – and footage taken from cageside proves just how power Ngannou possesses.
Ngannou’s KO of Ferreira was Ruthless
From the camera stationed just inches from the action, every time Ngannou lands on Ferreira it sounds more like he is hitting him with a baseball bat than his fist. Unable to do much to avoid the onslaught, Ferreira was essentially only waiting for the referee to stop the action.
The official eventually acted, but not before Ferreira had taken more punishment than was necessary. By the time Ngannou threw his final punch, the Brazilian was already unconscious.
Ngannou would dedicate his victory to his late son Kobe, who sadly died in April at the age of only fifteen months. “Without Kobe, we wouldn’t be here tonight. I hope they can remember his name.” Ngannou said after his win.
Ferreira, to his credit, is a former PFL heavyweight tournament winner, and has a KO victory over Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader on his resume. But he just couldn’t muster anything against Ngannou.
‘The Predator’ does not currently have his next fight lined up, but few PFL heavyweights will be lining up to face him after his dominant victory on Saturday night.
Culled from GIVEMESPORT
15, November 2024
Mike Tyson back in the ring to face Youtuber Jake Paul 0
Nearly 40 years after making his professional debut, and 19 years after being battered into retirement, a 58-year-old Mike Tyson will climb back into the ring on Friday for a Netflix-backed bout that has drawn widespread condemnation across the boxing world.
Tyson, who terrorised the heavyweight division during an imperious reign in the late 1980s, is lacing up the gloves once more to take on Youtuber Jake Paul, 27, in an officially sanctioned fight at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.
The fight, which will be comprised of eight two-minute rounds, was initially due to take place in July but was postponed in May after Tyson required medical treatment on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles after vomiting blood due to a bleeding ulcer.
That gory mid-air emergency has provided another piece of ammunition for the numerous critics who have condemned Friday’s contest as a macabre circus act that poses an unacceptable level of risk for Tyson, who last graced a professional ring in 2005, when he was beaten via a technical knockout after quitting on his stool against Irish journeyman Kevin McBride.
‘It shouldn’t be happening’
“Twenty years ago, Mike Tyson retired from boxing, and was shot to pieces, right? I mean, completely shot,” the prominent British fight promoter Eddie Hearn said this week.
“If anyone thinks that Mike Tyson should be in a ring at this age, you either have absolutely no emotional feelings toward the man, or you’re an idiot. It shouldn’t be happening.”
Hearn’s rival promoter Frank Warren echoed those sentiments.
“Mike Tyson is 58 years of age and he shouldn’t be fighting,” Warren said after the bout was announced. “It’s as simple as that.
“Anyone with an ounce of brains knows that it is ridiculous. You can be on a motorway stuck in a traffic jam and you get to the end of it and all it is is people who have stopped to look at a crash – and that’s what this is.”
Tyson, who US reports say is being paid around $20 million for Friday’s contest, has brushed off the concerns for his wellbeing, insisting when critics from the boxing world are motivated by jealousy.
“I’m beautiful, that’s all I can say,” he said earlier this year. “The people who said that wish they were up here. No one else can do this.”
At an open workout in Texas this week, Tyson declared that a gruelling training camp had left him with the conviction “that I’m tougher than I believed I was.”
“When I agreed to this fight and started training, I thought ‘What was I thinking of?’ But I’ve finished the process. The fight is the party. All the hard work is done.”
At a final press conference in Texas on Wednesday, a stony-faced Tyson pointedly declined to engage in the pre-fight hype.
“I’m just ready to fight,” he said. “I’m looking forward to fighting.”
Injury fears
A global audience of several million watching on Netflix, and tens of thousands inside the AT&T Stadium, will be watching on Friday to see whether Tyson’s hard work pays off.
His opponent Paul – who was born six months before Tyson bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear in their infamous 1997 rematch – rose to prominence as a Youtuber, before turning his attention to boxing.
Since his first fight against a fellow Youtuber in 2018, Paul’s opponents have included a basketball player, mixed martial arts fighters and other professional boxers. In 11 fights he has won 10 (seven by knockout) and lost one.
“I feel really good, sharp, powerful and explosive. It’s going to be a short night for Mike,” Paul said at Tuesday’s open workout, where he appeared wearing a bizarre head-dress in the form of a rooster.
It goes without saying that a prime, 1980s-era Tyson would almost certainly have dealt with Paul within a few minutes.
Does he retain enough residue of the talent and destructive power that made him the youngest heavyweight champion in history in 1986, at the age of 20 years and four months? Bob Arum, the legendary 92-year-old boxing promoter who has seen it all, is unequivocal.
“The answer is no,” Arum told Secondsout.com last month. “A 58-year-old guy, no matter how good they were, no matter how athletic they were, are not gonna be able to fight.
“You can’t throw punches like you’re supposed to, you can’t do a lot of things. I hope Mike doesn’t get hurt, but I really give him relatively no chance.”
(AFP)