Francis Ngannou has never been afraid of daunting challenges. From crossing the Sahara desert on foot to fulfill his dream of becoming a fighter to parting ways with the UFC to try his luck in boxing, nobody can match the Cameroonian-French fighter’s go-getter attitude. Following his exit from Dana White‘s fight promotion, Ngannou negotiated a contract with the PFL in January 2023 that allowed him more “freedom” to pursue lucrative fights in boxing alongside MMA.

Alas, the 38-year-old fighter’s wish was granted and he was able to have fights with two of the biggest heavyweights of the current generation, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Francis Ngannou reportedly made a whopping $30 million from his two boxing fights. However, is Ngannou fully aware of the exact amount he made from these bouts?

The former UFC fighter was the latest guest to feature in Jake Paul’s podcast BS w/ Jake Paul. In the course of their conversation, Ngannou also discussed his experience in boxing. Amidst the discussion, when Jake Paul said, “Francis’s reward was like 20, 30 million from fighting Fury and Joshua.” ‘The Predator quickly interjected and responded, “I haven’t made the math though. I don’t know exactly what, and how much.”

Well, one thing is for certain, the payout was quite high as Ngannou broke out in laughter along with the podcast’s crew members. “That’s a good problem to have,” Jake Paul quipped.

Furthermore, when one of the co-hosts of the show asked Ngannou what made him take the bold step towards switching to boxing from MMA, and take up a fight against a lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in his debut fight, Francis Ngannou explained, “I mean I was comfortable doing that because that’s basically the story of my life you know, I just get up and do things. When you go through something and you say okay this is the only way that I can go, the only way that I have to go is forward, I’m not going backward.”

Safe to say, Francis Ngannou was dead set on his intentions to fight Fury and Joshua, fortifying his mind to achieve the desired outcome. “You wrap your mind around it, you pull your sleeves up and you know, ‘I have a battle, I’m moving forward,” Ngannou said, highlighting his fortitude.

Although the paychecks he received from the boxing fights were quite hefty, the results weren’t quite as expected. After losing to Fury in a controversial split decision verdict last year, he was knocked out cold by Anthony Joshua in the second round of their fight this year in March. With no wins in any of the boxing matches, is Francis Ngannou bidding farewell to the ‘sweet science’?

Francis Ngannou’s balancing act!

Back to the familiar territory of MMA, The ‘Predator’ will be making his PFL debut on October 19 as he goes up against Renan Ferreira. After the tragic demise of his 15-month-old son Kobe earlier this year, Ngannou was contemplating retirement from combat sports. But, he eventually decided that to continue fighting would be the best way to “honor” his late son. However, does he have plans to return to the boxing ring anytime soon after the Joshua fight setback?

“I never left MMA. Also, I haven’t left boxing. I’m not returning to MMA. I never left MMA. That’s the confusion,” Francis told in an interview with BBC Sport. “The fact that those fights even happened, it was something exceptional. I had that dream for over 20 years, and I finally put it into fruition. That was dream chasing, a life-long dream I completed.” 

That being said, who would you like to see Francis Ngannou fighting in his next boxing match? Let us know in the comment section below.