Ex-UFC champ Francis Ngannou ranked by WBC after Tyson Fury loss

Former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou was ranked No. 10 in the heavyweight division by the World Boxing Council (WBC) on Wednesday following a split decision loss to champion Tyson Fury in his debut in professional boxing last month.

Ngannou, 37, faced Fury in a non-title fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 28 and narrowly lost after scoring a third-round knockout against the undefeated WBC champion.

The WBC has taken the rare step of ranking a boxer without a professional victory at its 2023 convention.

The French Cameroonian fighter moved from mixed martial arts to boxing after the UFC released its heavyweight champion in January after contract negotiations broke down.

One judge scored it 95-94 for Ngannou but was overturned by scores of 96-93 and 95-94 for Fury. Fury’s WBC heavyweight title was not on the line in the 10-round boxing match. Ngannou was making his professional boxing debut in his first fight since January 2022.

Englishman Fury was installed as a -1400 favorite to win the match. He moves on to an undisputed heavyweight championship fight against Oleksandr Usyk despite arguably his worst performance against Ngannou.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.