Conor McGregor bets big money on Francis Ngannou to lose at PFL Battle of the Giants

Conor McGregor | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Conor McGregor has 500,000 reasons to pick against Francis Ngannou.

“The Notorious” boasted on social media that he has placed half-a-million on Renan Ferreira to to defeat Ngannou by knockout in Saturday’s PFL Battle of the Giants main event. The bout marks Ngannou’s first MMA fight since a successful defense of the heavyweight title at UFC 270 in January 2022.

Ngannou has never been finished by strikes under MMA rules, but he was knocked out in brutal fashion by Anthony Joshua in a boxing match this past March. The loss dropped Ngannou to 0-2 as a boxer, with one of those setbacks being a narrow split call against Tyson Fury.

According to McGregor’s post, should Ferreira beat the odds, the bet will pay out $1,675,000. Ferreira has scored 11 of his 13 pro victories by KO/TKO, including a recent win over Ryan Bader and three wins in 2023 that earned him a PFL heavyweight tournament crown and a $1 million prize.

McGregor has made a habit of sharing large wagers in partnership with betting website Duelbits. This past July, the UFC star cashed in on another $500,000 wager when he successfully predicted that old foe Nate Diaz would defeat Jorge Masvidal in a boxing match.

Updated: After the loss, McGregor tweeted - then deleted - the following:

THE RICH GET RICHER ILL GET THAT BACK.

See a screenshot of the original tweet below.

@TheNotoriousMMA, Twitter