Eddie Hearn has ridiculed Francis Ngannou for providing an odd justification for his knockout loss to Anthony Joshua, the ex-UFC champion.
Earlier this month in Saudi Arabia, the former UFC heavyweight champion faced a severe setback when he was knocked out by Joshua in the second round.
Joshua knocked Ngannou to the ground in the first round and concluded the bout with two powerful strikes shortly afterward.
During an appearance on the MMA Hour, the fighter from Cameroon pointed to unusual scheduling in Riyadh that evening as a factor that adversely affected his pre-fight preparations.
The main event kicked off around 3am local time, and Ngannou noted he had been instructed to arrive at Kingdom Arena by a certain hour, whereas Joshua made a later entrance.
The MMA fighter admitted to nearly dozing off backstage as he awaited his entrance to the ring, feeling misled into becoming fatigued.
However, Joshua’s promoter, Hearn, dismissed Ngannou’s explanation. Reacting to the comments circulated on Instagram, Hearn humorously suggested that Ngannou might still be disoriented from the knockout.
“I’m not sure he’s come round yet [from the knockout],” he wrote, according to Metro.
Looking ahead, Ngannou might pivot back to MMA, having inked a deal with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he is slated to face Renan Ferreira.
