Conor McGregor has insisted that he will earn his money back after losing a massive $500,000 bet on Francis Ngannou.
The Irishman picked underdog Renan Ferreira to beat the Cameroonian in his PFL debut, which was a massive underdog bet that could have returned $1.7million with a win. But Ngannou completely dominated and landed a first round knockout as expected to shatter his hopes.
It came after McGregor pocketed a massive $1.2million from his bet on Alex Pereira at UFC 307, which clearly made him confident in his earning potential. But he will have to swallow a big defeat after watching Ngannou return with a win.
Francis Ngannou knocks out Renan Ferreira to win PFL Super Fights title
After 1,000 days out of action since his last UFC title defence against Ciryl Gane, lineal heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou made his successful return to the cage on Saturday night. After losing his two boxing efforts in Riyadh, he finally got in the win column in the Middle East.
He was heavily favored to beat 2023 PFL champion Ferreira in their meeting, despite being considerably smaller than the 6’8 behemoth. And he did just what was asked, slamming his rival to the mat before unleashing brutal ground and pound.
Fans on social media were outraged at how long referee Dan Miragliotta allowed him to land shots before stopping the fight. Many felt that he could have saved the Brazilian from four or five more blows if he had stopped proceedings earlier.
Ngannou dedicated his victory to his 15-month-old son Kobe, who passed away in April after a sudden illness. It is unclear whether or not he will stick with MMA under the PFL banner or move back into the ring in pursuit of a boxing victory.
Conor McGregor loses massive $500,000 bet on Francis Ngannou’s fight
While watching the pay-per-view event, Conor McGregor decided to place a wager on the heavyweight clash. He placed $500,000 of his winnings from the Pereira bet a few weeks prior on the line in favor of Ferreira, who was a sizable underdog.
The Irishman was confident of picking up the win, tweeting out a voice note with his betting plans. “Tonight’s bet for me. 500k on Ferriera to win by KO at 12/5. $1.7m return,” he captioned the message, which has since been deleted.
“Okay, folks, ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor here,” he said in the voice note. “Fight night, fight night, fight night. The Mac is back with his winning bets. I have a 100% winning ratio on these bets. Ngannou is losing by KO tonight.
“12/5 the Brazilian is to knock him out and I’m putting half a million on it and I’m going to win back $1.7million. That’s it. It’s a ruthless business and I’m a ruthless man.”
However, that result didn’t quite work out for him as he lost within minutes. It didn’t seem to dampen his spirits, however, as he left a message for fans that read: “THE RICH GET RICHER I’LL GET THAT BACK.”