Ryan García has warned any MMA fighter thinking about swapping the octagon for the boxing ring.
It came after Anthony Joshua delivered a brutal second-round knockout to defeat Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Friday night.
The British fighter put in an excellent performance to knock the former UFC heavyweight champion to the canvas three times in the first two rounds.
Ngannou, who was making his second professional appearance in the boxing ring, had stunned Tyson Fury in their previous fight, knocking the Gypsy King to the ground, but was destroyed by Anthony Joshua on Friday night.
‘Let this be a big warning to MMA fighters!’ García wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Anthony Joshua delivered a brutal second-round knockout to defeat Francis Ngannou on Friday.
Ryan Garcia told MMA fighters to ‘stop coming to boxing’ after Ngannou was hit
Garcia warned MMA fighters hoping to step into the boxing ring on his X account.
‘Stop coming to boxing, it will only get worse. It’s even more so if we just go to your sport! On! A punch.
Ngannou is not the first MMA star to turn to boxing, as Ben Askren was defeated by Jake Paul, while former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley also suffered the same fate at the hands of the YouTube-turned boxer.
Conor McGregor also once swapped MMA gloves for a pair of boxing gloves and faced Floyd Mayweather in 2017, but ultimately lost to the undefeated champion.
On Friday night, McGregor was also called out by Tommy Fury, who is looking to return to the ring shortly after recovering from a hand injury.
Garcia also expressed his best wishes to Ngannou after he suffered a vicious right hook that dropped him to the canvas.
‘Sending healing prayers to Francisco! Your bravery and guts should be commendable.
‘Congratulations Antonio Josué.’
The British fighter could now prepare for a highly anticipated fight against his compatriot Fury.
Joshua will be hoping The Gypsy King can take all of Usyk’s belts, when they finally meet in their postponed undisputed clash on May 18.
The British fighter had knocked the former UFC star to the canvas three times during the fight.
Ngannou apologized to his fans after the fight, claiming he had “let them all down” but promised to return after a “bad day at the office.”
Many, including Joshua, had believed Ngannou had won his previous fight against Fury, with the former heavyweight champion saying he should be WBC heavyweight champion after knocking out the former MMA star.
‘Francis Ngannou defeated the WBC world heavyweight champion. He should be WBC world heavyweight champion right now! He’s a great fighter,” Joshua said after Friday’s fight.
Meanwhile, Garcia has been preparing to challenge Devin Haney for the WBC super lightweight championship in April, but concerns have been raised over his well-being in recent weeks.
Over the past week a series of worrying messages have been posted on his social media accounts, including some satanic references, he has photographic evidence that aliens exist, and that he has previously witnessed “human trafficking.”
García showed off his return to training by hitting the heavy bag in a clip shared on social media.
Despite his personal problems, Garcia is still scheduled to face Devin Haney next month.
Garcia sparked fear among his family after he posted a video of an unidentified person claiming in the caption that his throat had been slit.
He has said that despite the concerning posts, he will still fight Haney on April 20, and Oscar De La Hoya downplayed concerns about Garcia’s well-being.
“I’ve been in contact with Ryan Garcia,” De La Hoya told Fight Hub TV. “I talked to him yesterday. I literally did, we were on video chat, we were FaceTiming each other. He looks good. He looks good, he seems ready. I’m telling you.’