Has Francis Ngannou ever tested positive for steroids? Revisiting 'The Predator's' USADA record during UFC tenure
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou's insane physique and his devastating knockout ability have often led to speculations about him potentially being on steroids.
Moreover, Francis Ngannou's former opponent Andrei Arlovski once accused him of taking steroids ahead of his UFC 260 bout against Stipe Miocic. Arlovski fought 'The Predator' in January 2017 when Ngannou secured a first-round knockout to score the most high-profile win of his career at the time.
Ngannou arrived in the UFC back in December 2015, just six months after the MMA promotion enforced an anti-doping program with the help of USADA. Despite the speculations that the former UFC heavyweight champion may be using PEDs to enhance his performance, he never tested positive for banned substances.
Furthermore, Ngannou has even completed 50 clean tests under USADA. Hence, he was presented with a jacket from USADA ahead of his final fight under the promotion back in 2022 against Ciryl Gane.
Francis Ngannou reveals why he did not expect to win a decision against Tyson Fury
'The Predator' finally made his highly anticipated boxing debut last night against WBC boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Despite walking into the fight as a massive underdog, Ngannou put on an impressive performance and even knocked down Fury in the third round.
However, Francis Ngannou ended up losing a split decision. Speaking about the same during a post-fight interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA, Ngannou admitted that he had anticipated that he wouldn't win if the fight went the distance. He said:
"If he's [Fury] being honest, he would say that I won that fight. I won that fight, there's not a question about it. Even before getting here, I knew that if this fight goes to decision, I'm not winning... Not because I didn't do good... I mean new guy in the house, I just came here and now I want to kick into people's business."
He added:
"I know there's a structured business out there. I wasn't expecting to win a decision just like that. It is what it is, I did my job, and I know that I did everything I could've done. I did my best and next time I should do better to convince people."
Catch Ngannou's comments below: