Francis Ngannou Opens Up on Main Reason Why He Lost to Anthony Joshua

• Anthony Joshua made it look easy against MMA superstar Francis Ngannou
• The boxer delivered a devastating knockout win over the ex-UFC champion
• Ngannou has given a new excuse for why he was knocked out in the bout

Francis Ngannou has said that he was deceived prior to his devastating knockout loss to Anthony Joshua.

Joshua secured two knockdowns before delivering a decisive blow, sealing a second-round victory in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

This marks Ngannou's second consecutive defeat in boxing, following his contentious loss to WBC title holder Tyson Fury last year.

The MMA star, who departed from the UFC to embark on a boxing career, expressed unease in the dressing room moments before stepping into the ring.

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Once again, the Cameroonian criticised the late start time, asserting that he felt 'tricked' after waiting for hours in the dressing room.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, he explained:

"Listen, I think we both fight at 3 am. It's not like I fought at 3 a.m. and he fought at like midnight or something.

"We both fought at 3 am."

The 37-year-old added: "What I think, something that's happened is that they get me to the arena very early. Like my pickup time was 10.30 pm to go to the arena.

"And then when we get to the arena, they tell us that we are scheduled around 1:45 am. right?"

The ex-UFC heavyweight champion reached the Kingdom Arena long before 'AJ'.

In that instance, he started to doubt his designated arrival time, given that Joshua had yet to appear while Ngannou was already preparing in the dressing room.

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"They come to the locker around 1 and Joshua [was just arriving around 1]," he said. "I'm like, 'OK, we are fighting at the same time, how come I have a pickup time?'

"We received a schedule, an email, and then for some reason I was there at least one hour before. But for the fight, at least two hours beforehand. They do this kind of trick to get you tired. I was like cool, I was like, 'Bro, it's OK'.

"I didn't know how it was, how important that was, until the fight day that I have to get there two hours before."

Ngannou apologises to his fans

Sports Brief earlier reported that Cameroonian boxer Ngannou apologised to his fans after being knocked out by Anthony Joshua in their fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The former UFC champion faced Joshua in his second professional boxing match after debuting in the sport against WBC heavyweight titleholder Tyson Fury last October.

Ngannou took to his official handle on X (formerly known as Twitter) to apologise to his fans for his awful performance in his fight against Joshua.