Israel Adesanya places sizable bet backing Francis Ngannou, reminds doubters ‘I’m rich’

Israel Adesanya happily puts his money where his mouth is when it comes time to back a close friend.

As Francis Ngannou attempts to shock the world in his professional boxing debut against heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, the former UFC middleweight king put down a sizable wager on “The Predator” to pull off the upset in Saudi Arabia. Just hours head of the fight, Adesanya posted his betting tickets showing that he put down $15,000 on Ngannou to win, with another $5,000 for Ngannou to score the knockout over Fury.

If he cashes those bets, Adesanya would take home almost $175,000, but he’s obviously got the odds against him because Ngannou is a massive underdog against a far more experienced boxer in Fury.

Comedian Darius DK noted that point in a response to Adesanya, while saying, “you know you my guy but [I don’t know] bout this one … of course if he catch him with one it’s over but he have to catch ‘em.”

While Adesanya is obviously rooting for Ngannou to win, he also didn’t seem all that concerned with the cash he might burn if Fury gets the win.

In response, Adesanya reminded the comedian “it’s OK … I’m rich.”

Consider Adesanya the winner in that exchange, because it’s unlikely he’ll be losing much sleep over $20,000, but that pales in comparison to the happiness he’ll surely exude should Ngannou pull off the win.

Adesanya joined fellow former UFC champion Kamaru Usman in Saudi Arabia to show support for Ngannou, with numerous other notable MMA fighters also in attendance, including Junior dos Santos and UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.