Francis Ngannou seems to work on his wrestling and what better way to have his African brother, the current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. In the first fight, Ngannou could not defend Miocic’s wrestling, so it would be best for Ngannou to have someone give him advice come fight night.
Other than Khabib, Usman is probably the best wrestler that is a current UFC Champion. He knows better than anyone on how to negate the wrestling pressure and even defend takedowns.
On Ngannou’s personal YouTube vlog, Ngannou showed Usman coaching him some grappling techniques and later revealed that he will have him as one of his cornermen.
Ngannou needs all the help he can get, he was dominated in their first fight and this is his second chance at the title. His opponent is the greatest UFC heavyweight champion and is coming off an impressive trilogy against Daniel Cormier.
The problem with Ngannou is his cardio in the later rounds of the fight, he is too focused on knocking out his opponent early that he gassed out the round after. Although he may have learned from his mistakes, he still has not shown his improvement in that department. All of his wins just end too fast, his power is just out of this world.
Ngannou’s greatest weapon is his power, which may be why did not need to improve his other skills. His first defeat could be a blessing disguise, as he is now willing to learn other aspects of the fight game. Even Dana White who criticized Ngannou’s ego led to the loss said that the Predator has worked his way up and deserves the title shot.
The winner of this fight will also grant the fighter a ticket to fighting Jon Jones. No one has ever beaten Jones, so basically a win against Jones has a benefit of becoming a HUGE Star. The heavyweight division is going to be EXCITING this year!
