Conor McGregor loses big in a failed bet against the former UFC champion

Francis Ngannou bet on himself when he left the UFC for the Professional Fighters League. However, Conor McGregor didn't bet on the MMA icon on Saturday night, costing the wealthy former UFC champion $500,000.

McGregor bet that Renan Ferreira would knock out Ngannou upon his return to MMA. McGregor posted proof of his bet. FightCrack and other social media channels published the digital betting slip.

In case you missed it, Ngannou destroyed Ferreira in the first round to become the PFL's Super Fights heavyweight champion.

Had Ferreira won, McGregor would have earned almost $1.7 million.

McGregor is a wealthy man with an estimated net worth of around $200 million, so this losing bet is unlikely to put him in danger. However, the loss could be seen as another example of one of the UFC's most prominent men showing no belief in Ngannou.

Ngannou, 38, left the UFC in 2022 as the reigning heavyweight champion. He wanted the freedom to pursue a boxing career, but the UFC wouldn't allow that. The PFL was looking for a signing, and Ngannou is arguably the most important free agent in MMA history.

They gave Ngannou the freedom to secure two important boxing fights against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua before making his promotional debut. Ngannou lost both fights and his son tragically died earlier this year. The loss to Fury was hard-fought, as Ngannou tried to catch the heavyweight star off guard – and even dropped him at one point.

In contrast, the loss to Joshua was a devastating second-round knockout. Ferreira's size and impressive ability, as well as the hardships Ngannou endured in and out of competition, may have led McGregor and others to view the former UFC champion as vulnerable.

Here too, the Ngannou doubters were wrong, and one particularly prominent doubter is a little lighter on the wallet as a result.

More MMA news – Historic PFL event

The PFL was in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for its first-ever pay-per-view event. Although the Saudi crowd wasn't as loud as one might have expected given the occasion, we did witness some fierce fighting.

In addition to Ngannou's epic knockout win, we also saw Cris Cyborg win her champion vs. champion fight with Larissa Pacheco via unanimous decision. Both women performed exceptionally well, but the MMA legend proved that she is still among the elite.

In a rematch, Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen successfully defended his title against Fabian Edwards. Things got a little difficult for Eblen in the last lap, but he held on and secured the win.

Here you can find all the results of the event.

• Francis Ngannou defeats Renan Ferreira by first-round knockout
• Cris Cyborg defeats Larissa Pacheco via unanimous decision (49-46×3)
• Johnny Eblen defeats Fabian Edwards via unanimous decision (48-47×3)
• Zafar Mohsen defeats Husein Kadimagomaev by unanimous decision (30-27×3)
• Paul Hughes defeats AJ McKie via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)