Irish boxer Conor McGregor lost a high-stakes bet after backing Brazilian Renan Ferreira in a fight against Cameroonian powerhouse Francis Ngannou, but confidently declared he’ll win the money back soon.
Conor MgGregor has had to bite his tongue after a recent bet went pear-shaped and ended up losing him $500,000. Now he is determined to win the money back on other bets and insists he will be successful. Prior to the failing bet, McGregor had got lucky when he placed a wager on Alex Pereira at UFC 307 which landed him $1.2million. With this success under his belt, the confident Irishman decided to test his luck with Renan Ferreira who he chose to fight against Francis Ngannou in his PFL opening game, hoping for a winning kitty of $1.7million. This impulsive move came as he was watching a televised version of the game. He is reported to have tweeted out a voice note: “Tonight’s bet for me. 500k on Ferriera to win by KO at 12/5. $1.7m return.” He then added: “Okay, folks, ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor here. Fight night, fight night, fight night. The Mac is back with his winning bets. I have a 100% winning ratio on these bets. Ngannou is losing by KO tonight. 12/5 the Brazilian is to knock him out and I’m putting half a million on it and I’m going to win back $1.7million. That’s it. It’s a ruthless business and I’m a ruthless man.”
Ngannou slashes McGregor’s hopes of a winning bet, dominating Ferreira in the first round
However, Cameroonian boxer Ngannou slashed McGregor’s hopes when he won the fight with a first round knockout and won the PFL Super Fights title. Heavyweight champion, Ngannou had been out of action for 1,000 days – his last UFC title was against Ciryl Gane, but he returned on Saturday night to give a striking performance against Renan Ferreira, last year’s PFL champion. McGregor must have ignored favourites to win as Ngannou was expected to smash the fight and win the title, even though he has a stature significantly smaller than 6’8 opponent, Ferreira. Within the first round, he had pinned Ferreira to the ground and success was within his grasp as he laid into his rival.Social media fans have expressed horror at the winning attack, criticising the referee, Dan Miragliotta for allowing such a prolonged series of punches against the Brazilian, Ferreira before intervening to concede the win.
McGregor determined to recuperate his lost bet with equal fervor
Ngannou’s triumph was dedicated to his infant son who tragically died after an unexpected illness. Now he will decide his next move, whether to accept his PFL title with MMA or continue to pursue a boxing victory for himself. Meanwhile McGregor has not lost faith and is even more motivated to continue placing bets to get the money back. He left an upbeat message for fans, revealing that the loss had not been enough to dash his hopes: “THE RICH GET RICHER I’LL GET THAT BACK.”
