How UFC icon Conor McGregor lost $745,000 in just three and a half minutes thanks to one crazy decision
- Conor McGregor spent a lot of money on MMA fights
- Francis Ngannou won the fight with a sunny knockout
UFC superstar Conor McGregor has suffered a huge betting loss following Francis Ngannou’s stunning first-round knockout win over Renan Ferreira at Sunday’s PFL event.
McGregor, who is estimated to be worth around $200 million, announced on social media this weekend that he is backing Renan Ferreira to knock out Ngannou.
In addition, he bet $745,000 on the outcome, posting a photo of his digital betting slip as proof.
“It’s a ruthless business and I’m a ruthless man,” he explained.
Unfortunately for ‘The Notorious’, Ngannou crushed Ferreira in the first round and crowned himself the PFL’s Super Fights Heavyweight Champion.
It is not the first time the Irishman has bet big on combat sports, with McGregor betting $745,000 on his old rival Nate Diaz to beat Jorge Masvidal in a boxing match.
“I have decided to bet $500,000 (US) on Diaz to win tonight’s boxing match,” McGregor posted against X before the July event.
“Reach, form, experience, just using the hands, I don’t see Masvidal giving Nate any problem in the boxing ring. They’re both little games around dipsh*ts in a fight, plays around bollox, but I feel like Nate is really doing him here in EASY. $500,000 will get me back $1,625,000 all in.”
Conor McGregor placed $745,000 on Renan Ferreira to win on Sunday – and it didn’t take long for the former UFC heavyweight champion to prove the bet was a shocking mistake
Francis Ngannou (left) produced a stunning KO over Ferreira in the first round of their PFL fight (pictured)
In that case, McGregor cashed in on his big bet.
Ngannou followed up his stunning knockout of Ferreira by dedicating the thrilling victory to his late son Kobe.
“I only did this fight because of him. I wanted to fight for him… I hope they can remember his name because without Kobe we wouldn’t be here tonight,” he said of his 15-month-old son in a post-fight interview.
Kobe died in April after doctors failed to detect a brain malformation.
A day earlier, Ngannou told CNN that Kobe was “a brave guy.”
“He came like a king and left like a king,” Ngannou continued. He was just something special. For some reason he could no longer live. I had to look at him so many times and was impressed. I couldn’t believe he was mine.’
‘The Predator’ cut an emotional figure after a fight before dedicating the victory to his late son Kobe
After some early heavy kicks from both fighters, Ngannou, who had not fought in mixed martial arts since January 2022, took the fight to the mat and eventually found himself behind his Brazilian opponent, throwing a series of booming punches to end the fight end with 88 seconds left. in the first round.
“This fight was also a way for me to find out if I could still fight, if I still have it,” he said. “If I can deal with this, with the pressure, with fight week, with the media and all that.”
Saturday’s event broke with the PFL’s usual format of a regular season and play-offs and set up a series of ‘super-fights’ with the titles on the line as Ngannou returned to the sport where he made his name after a foray into the world of boxing.