WBO, IBF, IBO, WBA heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk sat ringside on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He nearly saw the biggest payday of his career go up in smoke, as WBC world champion Tyson Fury was nearly derailed by MMA veteran Francis Ngannou.

The crossover fight with Ngannou was viewed by many as an "easy money grab" for Fury - but the contest was far from easy.

Fury was dropped in the third round, he was cut on his forehead from an uppercut, and he was taking more shots than usual during the eight.

After the smoke had cleared, Fury barely walked away with a ten round split decision victory - with scores of 96-93, 95-94 for Fury, and 95-94 for Ngannnou.

Fury is now slated to collide with Usyk in a high-stakes undisputed fight on December 23 in Saudi Arabia.

Usyk is not exactly sure what to make of Fury's performance with Ngannou.

"I had an impression that he was playing. I’m not thinking about [whether he was playing possum] but I will be training 100 percent. But listen, it’s boxing. Maybe it was the element of surprise. Maybe," Usyk explained to Fight Hub TV. "I think it was show. See you 23 December."

Usyk has a lot of respect for Ngannou, but he was shocked - like most - when Fury hit the mat in the third.

"I don’t know [if this make me more confident], I have no idea. Listen, [Ngannou] is a world champion at MMA, that was a hard punch. Then there’s the element of surprise. Maybe Tyson Fury didn’t take it serious, “Oh it’s an MMA fighter blah blah blah”. I don’t know," Usyk said.

"Of course I was surprised [by the knockdown]. I watched the knockdown and I said, “Oh, oh, oh Francis! Be careful please!” I was saying, “Tyson! Jab, jab jab, move, jab!” I was saying that."