Francis Ngannou News

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2017

UFC 215 just grew by one massive heavyweight showdown. This tilt will see former heavyweight champion and recent title challenger Junior Dos Santos collide with surging French contender Francis Ngannou. This fight, which has been rumored for some time, was announced on the UFC’s official Facebook page. The UFC also announced a light heavyweight bout between long-time Swedish contender Ilir Latifi and Australian prospect Tyson Pedro.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2017

Shortly after his UFC Fight Night 110 TKO loss to Mark Hunt, heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis surprised the MMA community by announcing that he may have fought his last fight in MMA. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, however, Lewis confirmed that he will probably fight again – and soon. “We’re just hoping that we don’t have to get surgery, because I thought about it a little bit, and it’s not going to be my last fight,” Lewis said. “I’m going to try to get back in there as soon as I can, and we’ll find out Wednesday, see what’s going on and if it’s not too serious. Hopefully I can get back in there before the end of the year.”

Tom Taylor - June 12, 2017

Over the weekend, in the main event of UFC Auckland, hulking UFC heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis experienced a hype-derailing loss to the veteran Mark Hunt. Shortly after this loss, Lewis surprised onlookers by announcing that he may have fought his last fight in the UFC’s Octagon. Given that real heavyweight contenders are few and far between, Lewis’ departure from the sport would be a definite disappointment. Luckily, we still have his rival Francis Ngannou, who has simultaneously made his own rise up the UFC heavyweight ranks. While Lewis battled Hunt in New Zealand, Ngannou was back in his new home of Las Vegas, Nevada. The heavyweight destroyer relocated to Vegas from Paris in search of more elite training partners and high-level coaching and facilities.

Tom Taylor - May 29, 2017

According to a report from Ariel Helwani, streaking heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou could return to the Octagon this August against his biggest test yet: former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos. The bout is being targeted for UFC 215, which is scheduled for August 19 in Seattle, Washington. UFC would like to book Francis Ngannou vs. Junior dos Santos for the yet-to-be announced 8/19 PPV, per sources, but it’s not done yet.

Tom Taylor - May 24, 2017

In a few short weeks, in the main event of the UFC’s upcoming trip to New Zealand, streaking heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis will face the biggest test of his career in MMA legend Mark Hunt. Should he pass this test, Lewis is likely to line himself up for a heavyweight number one contender fight, perhaps with fellow contender Francis Ngannou. Given their concurrent rises into contendership, much has been made of a possible Lewis vs. Ngannou fight. Apparently, this is something Lewis is interested in, though he thinks Ngannou is overhyped.

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2017

Last weekend, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic defended his title for a second time, clubbing Junior Dos Santos to a first-round stoppage. This win impressed the hell out of most members of the MMA community – but not surging contender Francis Ngannou. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, the hulking Frenchman explained that he’s not particularly impressed by the heavyweight champion, and that he considers oft-injured former champ Cain Velasquez to be the true heavyweight king.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2017

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOZ3Yl5BuTi/?hl=en The UFC heavyweight division is always hurting for fresh, young talent. This is precisely why it’s been such a pleasure watching hulking, 6’4 Cameroonian-Frenchman Francis Ngannou rise through the division’s ranks. He is far and away the most exciting prospect in the division.

Tom Taylor - March 26, 2017

Shortly after his thunderous, first-round knockout of Andrei Arlovski, rising heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou issued callouts of three of the division’s top fighters: Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, and Alistair Overeem. Yet when Ben Rothwell was forced out of a scheduled bout with Brazil’s Fabricio Werdum, leaving Werdum without an opponent, the Brazilian became Ngannou’s primary target. Ngannou has some competition in his quest for a fight with Werdum. That competition comes from an unlikely source in former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, who has beef with Werdum stemming from their days fighting under the Strikeforce banner.

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2017

Earlier this month, in the main event of the UFC’s latest trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, monstrous heavyweight Derrick Lewis braved a bit of early adversity to pound the dangerous Travis Browne to a second-round KO. With this win, the Texas based destroyer set himself up for some massive potential fights in the UFC heavyweight division, any number of which would push him right to the cusp of a title shot. On Monday’s edition of the MMA Hour, Lewis discussed the options for his next fight with host Ariel Helwani. During this segment, he addressed widespread interest in a fight with fellow contender Francis Ngannou, who recently dazzled with a veritable execution of former champ Andrei Arlovski. Lewis explained that if this is the fight he’s offered, he’ll take it, because he knows it’s one the fans want.

Tom Taylor - January 30, 2017

Last Saturday, on the main card of the UFC’s latest trip to Denver, Colorado, French-Cameroonian heavyweight prospect Francis Ngannou faced the biggest test of his career in former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. The rising star passed this test with flying colors, thumping Arlovski to a first round TKO victory. With this win, Ngannou continues his destructive march through the heavyweight rankings, and is now probably just a few wins away from a heavyweight title shot.

Tom Taylor - January 29, 2017

Last night, the UFC returned to Denver, Colorado with UFC on Fox 23. This 12-fight card went down as an unforgettable one, as we witnessed stoppages in a whopping eight bouts – including all four on the event’s main card.

Tom Taylor - January 29, 2017

Last night, the UFC returned to beautiful Denver, Colorado with UFC on Fox 23, a 12-fight card highlighted by some epic finishes and significant upsets. One of the most memorable moments of the event took place on the main card, when rising prospect Francis Ngannou took on former champion Andrei Arlovski in a compelling heavyweight showdown. Despite Arlovski’s massive experiential edge, Ngannou did as many expected, laying waste to his legendary opponent with the frightening finesse of an assassin. The French-Cameroonian prospect’s thunderous knockout win occurred at the 1:32 mark of the very first round. With this win, he moved to 5-0 in the UFC. Having scored stoppages in all of these wins, knocking out Luis Henrique, Curtis Blaydes, Bojan Mihajlovic, and Arlovski, and submitting Anthony Hamilton, he’s now the owner of the UFC’s longest active finish streak, at 5. With an overall record of 10-1, he’s undeniably the hottest prospect in the heavyweight division.

Tom Taylor - December 16, 2016

The first quarter of 2017 will be a big stretch for the heavyweight division, as the UFC has pencilled two huge heavyweight scraps onto the calendar. These fights will see the division’s two best prospects take big steps up in competition against well established names. The first of these heavyweight showdowns will occur on January 28, at UFC on Fox 23, when French-Cameroonian destroyer Francis Ngannou gets the biggest test of his career in former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. The second will occur just weeks later, when massive Texan Derrick Lewis faces what could be his biggest test in fringe contender Travis Browne. Lewis and Browne will duke it out on February 11, at UFC 208 in Brooklyn.