Francis Ngannou “very interested” in a potential showdown with “Rumble”

Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Francis Ngannou says he’s “very interested” in a potential heavyweight fight with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.

Johnson, who has competed as low as the welterweight division in the past, achieved his biggest successes in the UFC light heavyweight division, where he twice challenged for the title. While he announced his retirement from MMA in 2017, he is now plotting a return to the Octagon, perhaps to the heavyweight division.

While Ngannou is currently focused on a yet unscheduled rematch with UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, who he lost a decision to in early 2018, he admits that he’d welcome the chance to fight Johnson in the future.

“Yeah, I would be very interested in that fight,” Ngannou told Morning Kombat this week. “Rumble Johnson is a guy that I respect a lot. I know him as a person, and I admire him as a person. It would be great to share the Octagon with him, no matter if it’s for the title or not.

“Even beyond Rumble Johnson I still have some dreams and some aspirations,” Ngannou continued. “But I have stay focused and realistic, and deal with the situation right now. Obviously that question has popped up before, and I would be down for that fight. It would such a great fight, and it would be such an honor to fight Rumble Johnson.”

Like Francis Ngannou, Anthony Johnson is known as one of the hardest hitters in MMA history. If the pair do collide sometime in 2021, a knockout seems like a near certainty.

Who do you think would come out on top of these two wickedly powerful punchers collided in the Octagon?