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The WBC have defended their decision to rank former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in their top 10 following his defeat to Anthony Joshua; president Mauricio Sulaiman says they are in the process of working on the current heavyweight rankings

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman says he stands by the decision to rank Francis Ngannou in the top 10 despite the former UFC heavyweight champion’s crushing knockout defeat to Anthony Joshua.

READ MORE ;Francis Ngannou felt like he was ‘falling asleep’ warming up for Anthony Joshua: ‘I was the only one that didn’t show up’

Ngannou was placed at No 10 in the rankings by the WBC on the back of his impressive boxing debut against Tyson Fury, which saw him record a stunning third-round knockdown of the undefeated world champion in a split decision defeat back in October.

Such was the lasting impression of his performance that Ngannou had been backed by some to trouble Joshua, only for the former unified world champion to assert his dominance with three brutal knockdowns on the way to victory in Saudi Arabia.

“100 per cent [we stand by the decision to rank him in the top 10], just by facts. Everybody criticised the WBC, myself, the ratings committee,” said Sulaiman, speaking to Sky Sports.

“They jumped the gun and a month later the fight is announced against Joshua and nobody said anything. It is about tendency, we don’t go or rule or make decisions by popularity. It is not a popularity con

“We go by facts, by rules and the ranking of Ngannou was perfectly supported by the WBC rules which is clear in the criteria from rankings that we consider the activity of the fighter in other contact sports.

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Ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou was knocked out by Anthony Joshua during their non-title heavyweight boxing contest in Saudi Arabia last Friday.

Francis Ngannou will drop out of the WBC’s top 10 heavyweight rankings after his devastating defeat to Anthony Joshua last Friday. Ngannou, 37, was brutally knocked out by Joshua, 34, in the second round of their fight in Saudi Arabia.

Much was expected of Ngannou heading into the bout after his impressive debut performance against Tyson Fury last October. Although Fury won that fight via split decision, many fans believed Ngannou should’ve been handed the victory for flooring the WBC champion and holding his own. The WBC responded by handing Ngannou, a former UFC champion, a spot in their top 10 heavyweight rankings.

READ MORE ;Anthony Joshua to face winner of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk

Yet that honour has now been retracted after Joshua’s emphatic victory. AJ, a former two-time world champion, twice floored Ngannou before dropping him for a third and final time. Joshua has now won four fights on the bounce and is back in contention for a world title shot.

But Ngannou’s dream of becoming a world champion in both UFC and boxing has been put on hold. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has confirmed that Ngannou will drop out their top 10 heavyweight rankings. “Yeah, (he will drop) from the top 10 certainly because he was knocked out in two rounds,” Sulaiman told talkSPORT.

Sulaiman insists he does “not regret ranking” Ngannou and has praised his “sensational outing” against Fury. Sulaiman added: “Joshua looked phenomenal, Ngannou looked surprised. He got caught early and could not recover from the next knockdown.

“But to use an analogy, in 1971, Joe Frazier knocked down Ali and beat him for the first time. In the next fight, George Foreman knocks Frazier down seven times and knocks him out in two rounds. Does that erase Joe Frazier’s performance against Ali?”

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Sulaiman refused to confirm whether Ngannou will remain in the top 40 heavyweight rankings – insisting it is “a matter for the ratings committee” – but would like to see him stay in the mix. The WBC chief continued: “If it was my decision, I would support him to still be in the top 40 rankings.

“I think we all could see him fighting anyone and still be competitive and possibly winning against rated fighters. So we’ll see what the ratings committee decides in the next couple of days.”

Joshua also believes Ngannou is capable of being competitive in boxing. The Brit said in his post-fight press conference: “He can come again. I told him he shouldn’t leave boxing. He can do well. Remember he’s two fights in and he’s fought the best. He can go a long way if he stays dedicated but it’s up to him.”

UPDATE ;Francis Ngannou next fight after Anthony Joshua has already been announced

And Ngannou has pledged to make a comeback and gain his maiden professional win in boxing. He said after his defeat to Joshua: “You can be sure I’m not done here. It wasn’t my day. He was way better than me. It sucks but it’s the game. We all know that.”

Francis Ngannou didn’t feel quite right in the moments leading up to his fight against Anthony Joshua, though he makes no excuses for his loss.

In just his second professional boxing match, the former UFC heavyweight champion found not even a fraction of the success he did in losing a razor-close decision to Tyson Fury. Instead, he suffered a knockdown in the first round and then got planted on the canvas in similar fashion in the second.

The end came just after Ngannou got back to his feet. Joshua blasted him with a huge overhand right that shut the lights out in dramatic fashion. Ngannou knew getting knocked out by Joshua was a real possibility, but even he didn’t expect it to go down like that.

READ MORE ;Dillian Whyte: Francis Ngannou had false confidence for Anthony Joshua fight

“We all knew it could happen,” Ngannou said during an Instagram Live session on Wednesday. “I wasn’t seeing it happen like that, but I always knew it could happen. At least, I was always prepared for that.”

Before he walked to the ring that night, Ngannou said something didn’t feel quite right as he warmed up backstage. He’s sure it’s a feeling some of his past opponents have probably felt going against him, which is why he’s not diminishing Joshua’s performance.

“I remember being in the locker [room] trying to warm up, and bro, it wasn’t going,” Ngannou said. “I was falling asleep. I’m sweating, but I’m falling asleep.

“But I assume that’s how some people I have fought, some people that I beat have felt before, but it was basically my first time to feel that. That’s why I kind of took a couple days out, I took some time for me. I obviously had to reflect on everything that’s happened through the fight.”

Ngannou didn’t address the timing of the fight, but the card from Saudi Arabia went on for several hours, and the main event didn’t take place until after 3 a.m. local time.

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Perhaps that played some part in how Ngannou felt as he warmed up, but he didn’t want to take away from Joshua’s victory. He also refused to put any of the blame on his coaches or teammates, because ultimately he knows everybody did their job that night … except him.

“Heads up to Anthony Joshua, to his team, that executed their plan properly,” Ngannou said. “Hats off to my team, too, because they did a great job. I think I was the one that just didn’t execute the plan properly and maybe didn’t feel completely present. I was the only one that didn’t show up, let’s say that.

“Everybody showed up and did what should have been done. No blame to anybody. All the blame is just about me. That’s the game.”

In the aftermath of the fight, Ngannou said he didn’t have any lingering effects from the knockout, though he’s seen doctors and already has an appointment scheduled with a neurologist. That said, he isn’t rushing to compete again, but it’s not necessarily over concerns about his health.

Instead, Ngannou said he wants to decompress after a very busy few months. He fought Fury for 10 rounds this past October and then effectively shifted gears to get ready for Joshua in March.

RELATED ;Francis Ngannou predicts who would win between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua  after losing to both British heavyweights in the last six months

“I was conscious right after [the knockout], and since then everything’s been good,” Ngannou explained. “Still going to run some medical work, just in case.

“Right now, I don’t know exactly what the fight I will be looking for next. I know that I’m going to take some time to rest up, focus on myself, and then when I’m ready I will get back to training. Therefore we can start to discuss the fights. As for now, we will just live the life. Because always remember, it doesn’t matter what is your profession, there’s always a life, we have a life going on that will continue to go.”

Despite the setback this past weekend, Ngannou insists he’s not done with boxing, and he definitely plans on living up to his commitment to compete in the PFL. But he can’t say for certain what’s next. He knows there are plenty of challenges to conquer across both sports.

“I’m not done with boxing, I’m not done with MMA,” Ngannou said. “Basically right now, I have an opponent now in the PFL in Renan Ferreira. That will be my future opponent in the PFL, but again, I basically have a lot of fights in the future. I can still combine [sports], I will still be back in action. Not because I’m more comfortable in MMA that I will let boxing go. I’m still going to do both.

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“It’s part of what we do. We take challenges. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t work. But we are working on it.”

With Ferreira waiting in the PFL, Ngannou is still open to any potential opponents in boxing, which includes a potential showdown with fellow knockout artist Deontay Wilder. He’s not making any decisions yet, but he plans on staying busy once he’s ready to fight again.

“It’s not over yet – not at all,” Ngannou said. “We’re just getting started. The only thing that we will miss this year is time, and I think we have some good amount of time ahead of us. Going to take some time for myself, chill, spend time with my family, my friends and then come back ready.”