Two Fighters Who Got Robbed Now Want to Fight Each Other

Francis Ngannou has a proposal that makes a lot of sense on paper: fight Rico Verhoeven next. And honestly, it’s hard to argue with the logic.

Both men are combat sports legends who decided to test themselves in the boxing ring—and both walked away feeling like the scorecards didn’t reflect what actually happened in there. Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, stepped into the ring with Tyson Fury in October 2023 and lost by split decision. Plenty of fans and observers thought he held his own against one of boxing’s elite, yet the judges ruled against him. Similarly, Verhoeven, a legendary Dutch kickboxer, recently faced heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and was stopped in the 11th round—but not before dominating the early rounds and being ahead on the scorecards when the fight was controversially halted. Verhoeven had entered that matchup as a massive -2500 underdog, which makes his performance even more impressive.

So when TMZ Sports asked the 39-year-old Ngannou about his next move following his first-round knockout victory over Philipe Lins, the answer came quick: Verhoeven is“very compelling. Very interesting.”The former champ made it clear that’s what he has in mind for right now. Interestingly, the two almost crossed paths before—Verhoeven was deep in discussions with Jake Paul’s MVP promotions before pivoting to chase Usyk instead.

What makes this matchup genuinely fascinating is the format flexibility. When asked whether they’d box or compete in MMA, Ngannou left the door wide open:“Either one. I would like to fight him.”That’s the kind of willingness to adapt that suggests real interest rather than posturing. Two guys who’ve been wronged by judges or stoppages in one sport, now eyeing each other as a path to redemption? That’s a compelling narrative—and a fight that could go either way depending on the ruleset.

Nothing’s been finalized yet, but Ngannou made it crystal clear where his head is at. Whether this deal gets made remains to be seen, but both fighters have the star power and the story to make it happen. The question now is whether the combat sports world will give them the chance to settle it.