Francis Ngannou News

Tom Taylor - March 14, 2018

On January 20, in the main event of UFC 220, hulking French-Cameroonian knockout artist Francis Ngannou stepped into the Octagon to challenge Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title. Though Ngannou entered this contest with mountains of hype attached to his name, he was blown out of the water by the champion, losing a lopsided unanimous decision after five, lopsided rounds. In the wake of this loss, Ngannou promised to learn from the experience and come back stronger – after a brief hiatus, during which time he planned to reconnect with family.

Justin Golightly - March 13, 2018

Francis Ngannou of the most severe and recent examples of how brutal MMA is and how forgetful fans are. Just before UFC 220, he was primed to be the next big thing and we were already planning mega fights with Brock Lesnar. After Stipe Miocic stifled him, it’s like he disappeared in the minds of the UFC and the public. His boxing coach Dewey Cooper vows that this won’t last long. Ngannou will learn from his mistakes and come back even better. “I got one word to describe [Francis Ngannou]: Phenomenal. We had an off night and we all felt that night, that Francis at his worst still couldn’t be stopped. That’s all I can say about that. Francis at his best won’t be defeated and him at his worst could not even be stopped. We got the best heavyweight in UFC couldn’t stop a guy who was just not at his best that night. Francis man, he’s phenomenal and he will definitely be back stronger than ever. […] Stipe was at his best and we just weren’t at our best and there will be improvement from that.”

Justin Golightly - March 6, 2018

Derrick Lewis made his triumphant return at UFC Austin with a late knockout of Marcin Tybura. After a delayed fourth round celebration with his wife, he went right back on the warpath trying to fight the who’s who of the heavyweight division. He’s been eyeing Francis Ngannou, but he’s just one of many. He’s even willing to welcome Brock Lesnar back to the UFC, regardless of USADA testing or not. “Yeah hopefully we can get something done this year, man. Hopefully we can get something before [Francis Ngannou] turns 50 on us. Usually after every fight, I tell them I would like to fight this guy. I always try to pick out the toughest guys that’s out there. […] I told them Francis, I told them [Alistair] Overeem, even a rematch with Mark [Hunt]. Who’s the other guy, [Curtis] Blaydes and Fabricio [Werdum]. Yeah, [the winner of Blaydes and Overeem]. I’d like to fight in May or June.”

Tom Taylor - February 21, 2018

In the wake of Derrick Lewis’ latest thunderous knockout win, which came against a gritty Marcin Tybura, fans immediately began clamoring for a matchup between him and fellow knockout artist Francis Ngannou. From the looks of it, the UFC has been listening.

Tom Taylor - February 11, 2018

Last night, in the co-main event of UFC 221, rising heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes picked up the biggest win of his career thus far, wrestling Mark Hunt to an impressive unanimous decision triumph. While Blaydes got the win he was chasing, he did have to weather some adversity in this fight, as Hunt very nearly put him down with punches in the first frame. Luckily, though, his chin held strong, and he was able to survive this scare.

Tom Taylor - February 8, 2018

Last month, in the main event of UFC 220, the hype train of Francis Ngannou came to an abrupt halt at the hands of UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. For five rounds, the champ out-fought the challenger, exposing major deficits in his wrestling and his cardio in the process. Speaking on a recent episode of his podcast, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan (one of the biggest drivers of Ngannou’s hype train before UFC 220) discussed the outcome of the UFC 220 main event.

Justin Golightly - February 6, 2018

The Black Beast Derrick Lewis is set to return against Marcin Tybura at UFC Austin, but he’s still on a mission to flame Francis Ngannou and his muscles. Ngannou had his biggest test ever in his short career and came up short in an exhausting performance against Stipe Miocic. Even though he loss, he’s one of the very few heavyweights out of huge names not to be knocked out by the heavy-handed firefighter. It was a huge learning experience for the fighter, but Lewis claims history is bound to repeat itself unless Ngannou does something about his body. “I watched the highlights of the Francis [Ngannou] fight. I didn’t watch the fight cause I didn’t want to give Francis my money and pay for his pay-per-view. I seen the highlights and Stipe [Miocic] had him against the cage and Francis is on his knees and Stipe wasn’t putting that much pressure on him. All Francis had to do was stand straight up, and Francis couldn’t even stand straight up. I know I wouldn’t just let Stipe hold me down like that. I knew he wasn’t going to walk through Stipe. It was a five-round fight and Stipe is a good wrestler. I knew that’s what Stipe was going to go in there and do. Ngannou had too much muscle. He was going to gas out quick as hell.”

Justin Golightly - January 31, 2018

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Derrick Lewis, better known as The Black Beast. He’s coming back in action at UFC Austin on February 18th to fight Marcin Tybura, but he’s got his eyes on another fighter. Francis Ngannou is taking some time off after coming up short against Stipe Miocic, but whenever he comes back, Lewis is up to throw down with the big man. He doesn’t stop at the call-out though, he alleges the 31-year old is at least 40 and is on performance enhancing drugs. “Yeah, I’ll fight [Francis Ngannou] on sight you know. This guy over here, every time somebody ask me a question about him, I say something nice, but every time somebody say something about him, he’s like trying to talk down on me saying I’m not on his level, talking about how I’m too slow and this and that. I really don’t care, but, don’t try and talk sh-t about me every chance you get. He talks sh-t, but he’s never like, ‘Oh, I want to fight Derek.’ He’s always talking down on me, but he doesn’t want to fight me.”

Tom Taylor - January 25, 2018

We’re now almost a week removed from Francis Ngannou’s tough loss to UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. This loss was as lopsided as they come, as Ngannou emptied his gas tank early, and spent the rest of the five-round affair clinging to life opposite the patient and powerful Miocic. While Ngannou’s first crack at the UFC heavyweight title was more or less a disaster, his coach Fernand Lopez feels there are a few positives that can be taken away from the bout: namely, Ngannou showed he’s got heart.

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2018

Last Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 220, Francis Ngannou’s hype train came to a skittering halt, as he was out-wrestled, out-paced, and altogether out-fought by UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic. In the pre-fight promotion for this bout, Ngannou was sold as an unparalleled force of destruction, an unstoppable behemoth, the second coming of Mike Tyson. And yet in the end, he looked about as human as a professional cage fighter can look: out of breath, bewildered, bruised, beaten. While UFC color commentator Joe Rogan was one of the biggest contributors to Francis Ngannou’s massive pre-fight hype, he is now saying that he’s heard Ngannou didn’t even train grappling ahead of UFC 220. Rogan made this claim on the Monday episode of The JRE MMA Show Podcast.

Tom Taylor - January 22, 2018

Last Saturday night, in the main event of the exciting UFC 220, hulking French-Cameroonian knockout artist Francis Ngannou lumbered into the cage with the goal of defeating Stipe Miocic and winning the UFC heavyweight title. In the end, however, the massively hyped Ngannou was outclassed by the champion, whose cardio, pressure and wrestling were simply too much to deal with. Now, it’s back to the drawing board for the undeniably talented Ngannou, who has been studying MMA for just four years. Though he certainly has some holes in his game that need filling, it seems he’s keen to learn from this loss, and use it as fuel for his continued evolution.

Chris Taylor - January 21, 2018

Dana White discusses Francis Ngannou’s first UFC setback and what could come next for Stipe Miocic. "I don't see why he couldn't fight at heavyweight."@danawhite asked @dc_mma if he'd be interested in a title shot with @StipeMiocicUFC. Can we get this, please? #UFC220 https://t.co/FljOglKMIB

Russell Sai - January 20, 2018

Stipe Miocic became the first man in history to defend the UFC heavyweight title three consecutive times on Saturday night at UFC 220 in Boston. Miocic was matched up against the feared and powerful knockout artist Francis Ngannou and was able to put the brakes on Ngannou’s quick rise and exposed some holes in his game. The UFC heavyweight champion ended up winning a five-round unanimous decision and cemented his place in history.

Tom Taylor - January 20, 2018

In the main event of UFC 220, Stipe Miocic attempted a record-setting third-straight defense of the UFC heavyweight title. His opponent was surging French-Cameroonian knockout artist Francis Ngannou. Much like Volkan Oezdemir before him, the challenger Francis Ngannou came out extremely aggressive. And much like Daniel Cormier before him, Miocic weathered the storm, defended intelligently, and picked his shots. Once he’d survived his challenger’s initial barrage, Miocic began to land, and even seemed to wobble his challenger on several occasions. Despite several scares, however, champion and challenger survived to the second.

Justin Golightly - January 20, 2018

If you didn’t catch the video when it first came out, by now you’ve probably heard the stat during the promotional whirlwind for UFC 220. Francis Ngannou has the record for the hardest punch in the world. Ngannou rocketed his huge fist into the high-tech padding and it spit out a huge number 129,161 units. With nothing to compare it to besides kickboxer Tyrone Sprong’s 114,000 units, we could only trust that wow, that’s powerful. But thanks to some research compiled by R/MMA user newbiedoobiedooo, we have some numbers that can put Francis Ngannou’s power in perspective. Franics Ngannou’s Punch Has the Strength Of: 

Justin Golightly - January 18, 2018

In response to President @realDonaldTrump’s recent alleged controversial comments on immigration, UFC heavyweight contender @Francis_Ngannou called Trump “a shame for America.” He said more, too. Hear his impassioned response below. #UFC220 pic.twitter.com/qM6hJSqWYa — MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 18, 2018

Justin Golightly - January 17, 2018

From the sand mines and homelessness in France, Francis Ngannou has overcome everything and entered a world of crisp suits and headlining UFC 220. Ngannou’s journey has been nothing short of incredible, but it’s not just about him, it’s about where he came from. His rise to success leads hopeful footsteps that people back home can follow. Whether that dream be fighting for a UFC championship, or simply finishing school, Ngannou wants to show generations of people that anything is possible. “This is going to close the chapter of my childhood and teenage years. All that time I have been frustrated with my whole life, with a feeling that I was always the last one who never had a chance. So I want to close that. I want to leave that behind me. This journey now is not only mine, it’s for all Cameroonians and for the whole of Africa and all of France, too. In Africa, when I started the journey, I was by myself. No one believed me at that time, and today all of them believe in me and they almost rely on me. It’s very important, because I can bring hope to someone or help someone to be ambitious and tell them that everything is possible.”

Tom Taylor - January 16, 2018

This Saturday, in the main event of UFC 220, surging French-Cameroonian sensation Francis Ngannou will get his anticipated crack at Stipe Miocic and the UFC heavyweight title. This title fight will serve as the crescendo of a Ngannou’s rocket-fuelled rise through the UFC ranks. In roughly two years, the hulking knockout artist has evolved from relative unknown to downright MMA star – and he’s already being paid accordingly.