When Ngannou faced WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury for the first time in October 2023, he shocked everyone by knocking him out in the third round. However, a split decision decision controversially kept Ngannou from winning.

Inspired by his performance, he tested himself against the British boxer on March 8 in Saudi Arabia by taking on two-time former champion Anthony Joshua. But in the second round, Joshua outmatched him and won via knockout.

Ngannou had a healthy ($20 million) payday for the bout, despite losing; prior, he had only received slightly less than $10 million for taking on Fury.

Ngannou’s generous benefactor

And with the lucrative sum boosting his bank balance, Ngannou revealed he can now pay back his friend Kamaru Usman, who lent him a huge sum of cash when he left MMA behind.

“He knew about stuff I turned down from the UFC during negotiation,” Ngannou said on the Pound 4 Pound podcast.

“Even my last fight in the UFC, you know I took $600,000 in my last fight in the UFC as opposed to $5 million that they were offering for the same fight. I was like, ‘Bro.’ And, I was broke, at the time. I owe Usman, I owe him $200,000.”

It’s currently unclear what the Cameroonian plans to do after his defeat to Joshua, but at the very least, he can pay back Usman after his generous loan.

The 37-year-old also signed an MMA deal with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) last year, and they have named Brazilian giant Renan Ferreira as his debut opponent.

However, it is yet to be determined when that will be or if Ngannou will decide to give boxing one last go before returning to combat fighting.