Francis Ngannou was an option to fight Jake Paul
When Jake Paul nixed his scheduled fight against Gervonta “Tank” Davis, he immediately began searching for alternative opponents so he could still compete before 2025 was over.
Paul eventually landed on two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, but that fight only came together after former UFC champion Francis Ngannou passed on the opportunity. While Ngannou said he felt disrespected by the offer, Paul’s business partner Nakisa Bidarian admits he still doesn’t totally understand why that fight didn’t come together.
“The whole situation with Francis was very confusing to me,” Bidarian said at the Jake vs. Joshua post-fight press conference. “He’s done a couple of interviews back and forth on terms of how he thought about our conversation.
“I think Francis is a revolutionary when it comes to fight sports. He stood up against the UFC. Showed what kind of man he is. This process, again, was just a little bit confusing for me given who I know who he is as a human being.”
The question about Ngannou was raised when comparing Paul’s performance against Joshua to the same fight Ngannou had in his second professional boxing match back in 2024.
Ngannou ultimately suffered a brutal second-round knockout after Joshua blasted him with a punch that sent “The Predator” crashing to the ground in a heap.
Meanwhile, Paul managed to make it to the sixth round, although he arguably evaded action far more than he engaged in it while throwing just 56 punches and connecting with only 16 during the fight with Joshua (per CompuBox).
The result was still the same after Joshua broke Paul’s jaw with a brutal right hand that ended the fight.
Still, Bidarian believes the loss was more about Paul giving up so much size to Joshua than actually being beaten by the superior boxer.
“I think a great game plan and preparation, unbelievable heart and the reality is Jake lost because of the size difference, not because of the skill difference,” Bidarian said. “AJ was hanging on that neck, pushing him down. When you have someone that heavy constantly doing that, it does suck the energy out of you.
“AJ talked about taking out the man’s soul. He didn’t take out his soul. He did take out his energy and that’s when he was able to get the finish.”
Category: General Sports
