5 MMA Fighters Who Successfully Transitioned to Boxing As Francis Ngannou Loses to Tyson Fury

• Francis Ngannou made his professional debut against Tyson Fury in an explosive bout
• The Cameroonian star gave a good account of himself despite losing by a split decision
• A number of MMA fighters have had successful spells in professional boxing in the past

The boxing world has seen some Mixed Martial Artists who have dumped the cage to fight in the ring.

Francis Ngannou recently made his debut in the boxing world and gave a good account of himself before his controversial loss to the WBC title holder, Tyson Fury by a split decision.

Stipe Miocic is also said to be interested in boxing, while some other MMA stars ventured into the sport and quit after just one bout.

Sports Brief looks at five MMA stars who have successfully transitioned to boxing (or are at least on their way).

Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua: Who is the better fighter and why?

Boxing

5. Conor McGregor

The Irish superstar is one of the most famous MMA stars in history. At the peak of his career, he was lured into boxing, taking on Floyd Mayweather in 2017.

The 'Money Fight' remains his only appearance in professional boxing and despite losing, he expressed interest in fighting Manny Pacquiao, per Sportskeeda.

A bout with the Filipino veteran is yet to happen, but McGregor believes he could fully venture into boxing.

4. Anderson Silva

In 1997, 'The Spider' made his professional MMA debut and until today, he remains one of the greatest in the sport.

He is also a lover of boxing and in 1998, he took on Osmar Luiz Teixeira in a fight that ended in a corner stoppage.

Silva did not compete in another boxing bout until 2005, when he fought Julio Cesar de Jesus, scoring a KO win.

3. Fabio Maldonado

What is Jake Paul’s professional boxing record? Here is the list of all the big names he has defeated in the ring to date

Boxing

Maldonado competed back home in Brazil before moving to North America, making his MMA debut in 2008.

Before joining the UFC, his MMA record was 17-3. In 2015, he was released by the IFC and then focused on professional boxing, winning his first fight via TKO.

It took him less than 30 seconds to win his second fight.

Maldonado lost all of his last four boxing fights, with the final one coming in 2020.

2. Michael 'Venom' Page

Michael 'Venom' Page began his career as a kickboxer before switching to MMA due to a lack of exposure in the former sport.

In 2012, he made his debut and a tornado kick won him his first fight. He then signed up as an MMA fighter and ended with a record of 19-1-0.

Page won his debut boxing bout against Jonathan Castano after a 3rd round TKO. He is currently undefeated with his two fights both finishing in knockouts.

UFC lightweight rankings: Who is the best lightweight fighter?

UFC

1. Kevin 'Kimbo Slice' Ferguson

Rolling Stone labelled Ferguson as 'The King of the Web Brawlers', owing to a history of underground fighting. 'Kimbo Slice' made his MMA debut in 2007 before moving to the UFC in 2009 in the heavyweight category.

He had a short MMA career with a record of 5-2-1 distributed between EliteXC, UFC, and Bellator before he moved on permanently to boxing in 2010.

Exciting news! We have a WhatsApp channel 🤩

➡️ Click to join our channel for all your favourite sports news.

How Fury defeated Ngannou

Sports Brief previously reported on Tyson Fury defeating Francis Ngannou by a split decision in the 'Battle of the Baddest' bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Briton overcame a Round 3 knockdown to defeat the Cameroonian in a controversial manner after the winner came down to a judging split decision.

Fury had to creep over the line to overcome the exciting MMA star after being dropped in Round 3, with two of the officials ultimately ruling in his favour.