Former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, experienced a surprising defeat at the hands of WBC boxing champion Tyson Fury in a non-title match held in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
In a closely contested bout, Fury was declared the winner through a controversial split-decision. Despite being knocked down in the third round, the British boxer secured victory with judges’ scores of 96-93 and 95-94 in his favor.
The third judge’s card had it 95-94 in favor of Ngannou. Fury maintains an undefeated professional record, while this marked Ngannou’s first professional boxing match.
Despite Ngannou’s dominance for most of the 10 rounds, Fury ultimately secured a narrow and contentious split-decision victory.