Fury vs Ngannou: Israel Adesanya in line for over £100,000 payout after placing $20,000 on Gypsy King to be KO’d by ‘The Predator’ in the Battle of the Baddest – as former UFC champ embraces Cristiano Ronaldo before Riyadh showdown

Israel Adesanya has put his money where his mouth is and given Francis Ngannou his full backing to beat Tyson Fury in their heavyweight showdown tonight.

Fury and Ngannou are due to meet in the ‘Battle of the Baddest’ in a matter of hours in one of the biggest crossovers fights ever in Saudi Arabia.

Ngannou has never been in a professional boxing match before and is considered a heavy underdog by the majority of fans, pundits and the bookmakers.

However, former UFC middleweight champion Adesanya believes ex-UFC heavyweight king Ngannou can pull off the upset and has placed two separate bets on the 37-year-old to get the job done.

Adesanya has put $5,000 (£4,100) on ‘The Predator’ to win the bout by knockout or technical knockout.

He has also bet $15,000 (£12,400) on Ngannou to win Saturday night’s fight against Fury

Adesanya would take home upwards of £100,000 if he wins both of his bets on Saturday

He has then put an even larger stake of $15,000 (£12,400) on Ngannou to simply win the fight.

The two bets put together means he has put $20,000 (£16,500) on Ngannou to overcome Fury.

If Ngannou does win by knockout to secure Adesanya wins on both of his bets, the latter would receive a payout of over $173,000 (£143,000).

It would cap off a dream few days for Adesanya, who has been hanging around with sporting royalty in Riyadh, and shared a warm embrace with Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday. 

A knockout victory for Ngannou seems his most likely chance of winning, with the Cameroonian-born star renowned for his power.

Ngannou is a heavy underdog against Fury as he prepares to have his first boxing match

Ngannou has won 12 of his 17 MMA fights by knockout, and stopped Stipe Miocic to become UFC heavyweight champion in March 2021.

Fury has never lost, let alone been stopped, in a professional fight, though, suggesting Adesanya has taken a big gamble in putting so much money on Ngannou to come out on top.

Adesanya is not the only MMA star to back an upset, as Ngannou’s former opponent Alastair Overeem has also picked him to be victorious.

However, the majority of current and ex-fighters expect Fury to get his hand raised and maintain his unbeaten record.