Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou faces boxing king Tyson Fury in the most lucrative fight of his career on Oct. 28. However, Ngannou’s former opponent, Junior Dos Santos, doesn’t give him much of a chance to win.
Dos Santos recently told MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast that he loves the fact that Ngannou is getting a huge payday and a much-desired chance to box, even though it might end “ugly” for him.
“I obviously don’t see much chance for Francis Ngannou,” said Dos Santos. “In my opinion, he doesn’t have boxing, he has power and strength. His strikes come unexpectedly and from all angles, you don’t know what to expect, and he has a lot of knockout power, since he has long and powerful arms, but I don’t see much quality in his boxing.”
Fury is 33-0-1 as a professional boxer with 24 knockout wins. Many fans hope “The Gypsy King” will next share the ring with Oleksandr Usyk.
Dos Santos sees the Ngannou match as “very interesting” for Fury, because Ngannou “has the hype, he’s the man in MMA today,” and this fight will “sell a lot” like Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor.
“We saw that Conor couldn’t even begin [to challenge Mayweather], and it went 10 rounds because [Mayweather] wanted,” Dos Santos said. “Mayweather didn’t throw a single punch in the first round. He owed [fans] a show. His purse was $380 million dollars; he owed a show, so it’s probably going to be the same thing. Tyson will cook the rooster in the first rounds, because he owes people a show, and then he’ll slowly break Ngannou.”
“A fight is a fight, of course,” he continued. “For the love of God, I don’t want to take anything away from Ngannou. I’m a fan of the guy, I like to watch him fight, but that’s the reality. Ngannou’s main thing is knockout power, his long arms and everything, and that will diminish as time passes, plus the bigger gloves, especially against a big guy like Tyson Fury. It won’t be that simple, like throwing a punch and landing and winning the fight, right?”
Dos Santos, who once again defeated Fabricio Werdum on Sept. 8, this time under bare-knuckle MMA rules at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA, understands why Fury is a massive favorite given his long history in boxing — and the fact he’s used to 12-round bouts.
“Honestly, I’d give Tyson a 95 percent chance to win, and five percent to Ngannou,” dos Santos said. “Let’s say five, because he’s obviously a MMA guy and has qualities, but boxing is different. He has to rush forward in the first three rounds.
“Tyson Fury is used to moving, Ngannou isn’t. He’ll get tired. It’s all about strategy. [Ngannou should] rush and look for that punch he needs. Don’t give him much space, close the distance, and use all the power he’s got early on, because if he waits too much, it will get ugly.”