JRE MMA Show #183 with Rico Verhoeven · Aired Aug 4, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Francis Ngannou approached Rico Verhoeven about an MMA fight weeks before his professional boxing match against Alexander Usyk.
The finding
What the evidence shows
There's truth to this. Verhoeven really did turn down a big money fight tied to Ngannou shortly before his May 2026 boxing match with Usyk, choosing to keep his word on the Usyk fight instead. But the offer came through Jake Paul's promotion company, not from Ngannou personally reaching out to him.
Read the supporting source · sports.yahoo.com ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Francis Ngannou approached Rico Verhoeven about an MMA fight weeks before his professional boxing match against Alexander Usyk?
Partly. The claim stretches what the evidence shows. There's truth to this. Verhoeven really did turn down a big money fight tied to Ngannou shortly before his May 2026 boxing match with Usyk, choosing to keep his word on the Usyk fight instead. A guest said it (matched by voice) on JRE MMA Show #183 with Rico Verhoeven, aired Aug 4, 2026, at 37:25. The supporting source is sports.yahoo.com, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
- Not independently confirmed in this record
- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
No dated revision is recorded here. Older checks may predate this log.
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