Francis Ngannou may have lost the battle against Tyson Fury, but it's safe to say that he won the war.

The former UFC fighter, who made his boxing debut on Saturday, went the distance against his heavyweight opponent and even scored the only knockdown of the fight. Ngannou landed a nasty left hook to the head of Fury in the third round of their bout in Saudi Arabia, causing the Gypsy King to fall on the canvas.

While Ngannou ended up losing via a controversial split decision–though many are saying he's robbed off the win, including NBA stars LeBron James and Damian Lillard–he still got a ton of Ws in the process. For one, he earned the respect of the boxing world. Secondly, even the WBC has recognized his skills, with his coach Dewey Cooper saying that Ngannou is going to be ranked in the Top 10 of the heavyweight division.

“Mauricio Sulaiman, the president of the WBC, said he's going to rank him in the Top 10 because he's better than most of the heavyweights in the Top 10. He said that in the ring,” Cooper shared, via Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie.

While being in the Top 10 is quite unprecedented for a new boxer with a 0-1 record, Francis Ngannou certainly exceeded expectations and at least deserves a shot at the best among the best.

After all, even Tyson Fury couldn't help but give Ngannou his flowers after their bout, admitting that he gave him his toughest battle over the past decade. Fury is undefeated throughout his career with a 34-0-1 win-loss-draw record.

“He's a hell of a fighter. Strong, good puncher, a better boxer than we ever thought he'd be. … He's a very awkward man and a good puncher. I respect him a lot. Before the fight and afterward. Listen, he was very awkward, he wasn't coming forward. He was waiting to counter my punches. He's given me one of my hardest fights in the past 10 years,” Fury said after the fight, per CBS Sports.

It remains to be seen what's next for Ngannou, but it's safe to assume that he's not going away from boxing any time soon.