"Like Mayweather did with Conor McGregor" - Former UFC champion picks his bet in the Francis Ngannou vs Tyson Fury fight

Francis Ngannou is set to make his professional boxing debut when he faces Tyson Fury on October 28th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos, who suffered a first-round TKO loss to 'The Predator' in 2019, shared his prediction for the bout.

Speaking with Mike Owens of MiddleEasy, 'Cigano' claimed that Ngannou's chances of winning the fight are due to his knockout power, however, he believes the bout will be tough, stating:

"Boxing is a completely different thing. Like Conor McGregor, remember? He had the knockout power as well, but when he fought Floyd Mayweather, we can see something like that because they’re getting paid so big money that they have to deliver a show. So, they need to go like a few rounds like Mayweather did with Conor McGregor."

Dos Santos continued:

"You really believe Conor went 10 rounds with him because of his merit? No way. Mayweather was taking his time and delivering a show for the people. That was great and that’s why Conor was able to. Mayweather also knew that he had the knockout power. Boxing is different and Mayweather kind of allowed him like the fight to go and it was little by little, break him down. We can see something like that happening with Tyson Fury and Ngannou.

Check out Junior dos Santos' comments on Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury below (starting at the 8:45 mark):

Dos Santos added that he is rooting for Ngannou due to the changes he is looking to bring to mixed martial arts. Despite this, he believes that his former opponent has a slim chance of actually pulling off the upset.

Mike Tyson shares how Francis Ngannou can upset Tyson Fury

Mike Tyson is training Francis Ngannou for his upcoming boxing match with Tyson Fury. During a recent appearance on The Jim Rome Show, the International Boxing Hall of Famer pointed out that 'The Gypsy King' was dropped by a smaller opponent, adding that 'The Predator' hits harder than anyone he has fought.

When asked how the former UFC heavyweight champion can win the bout, Tyson stated:

"He just needs to go all out aggression, punching to the body, bringing it to the head as we've been working with. He’s moving his head, he’s getting it together, and he’s really determined to do this stuff. He really wants to do this for his country, his people, his patriotic pride. This is really interesting. I’m very ecstatic about doing this."

Check out Mike Tyson's comments on Francis Ngannou below:

Tyson shared that if Ngannou is able to win the bout, it would be a bigger upset than his 1990 knockout loss to Buster Douglas. His opponent entered the bout as a 42 to 1 underdog before pulling off what many consider to be the biggest upset in boxing history with a tenth-round knockout.