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ESPN Staff Writer
- MMA columnist for ESPN.com
- Analyst for "MMA Live"
- Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun
In a shocking turn of events, Tyson Fury survived a third-round knockdown to eke past Francis Ngannou via split decision on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
One judge scored it 95-94 for the former UFC heavyweight champion but was overruled by tallies 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 (0-1 in boxing), 37, a native of Cameroon, was making his pro boxing debut in his first fight since January 2022, and Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs), 35, of Manchester, England, was installed as a 14-1 favorite to win the match and move onto an undisputed heavyweight championship fight versus Oleksandr Usyk.
That fight is already signed and planned for Dec. 23 in Riyadh, but it's unclear if the match will happen on that date.
"It will be our next fight, guaranteed," Fury said.
Relive all the action and how the fight played out.