Tyson Fury knocked down, struggles to points win over Ngannou

In an embarrassing twist,, Tyson Fury was forced to survive a third-round knockdown to beat Francis Ngannou via split decision Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

One judge scored it 95-94 for the former UFC heavyweight champion, but was overruled by tallies of 96-93 and 95-94 for Fury. Ngannou was making his pro boxing debut in his first fight in over 31 months.

England's Fury moves on to an undisputed heavyweight championship fight against Oleksandr Usyk despite the worst performance of his career. Fury's WBC title was not on the line for the Ngannou match.

Contracts for the Fury-Usyk fight have already been signed and is scheduled for December 23 in Riyadh, but it's unclear if the fight will happen on that date. Fury was cut over his left eye and would have less than two months to prepare for what could arguably be the toughest fight of his career.

"It will be our next fight guaranteed," said Fury.

Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) was expected to dominate Ngannou but instead struggled for a decision and seemed lost throughout the bout

"That definitely wasn't in the script," Fury said. "He's a very awkward man and he's a good puncher and I respect him a lot. ... He wasn't coming forward. He was standing back waiting for me. He's given me probably one of my toughest fights in the last 10 years."

Fury added: "He's a good boxer. He's a lot better than I thought he'd be and he gave me a good fight. I would like to do it again down the line, and I'm sure Francis would like to do it as well."