Francis Ngannou is On His Way Back… And He Hasn’t Lost His Magic Touch…
Francis Ngannou’s punches officially have the destructive power of a Death Star. He is possibly the most terrifying man in the UFC today, with an incredible physique and ludicrous strength. He’s set to return at UFC 226, on July 7, 2018, against his fellow knockout artist, Derrick Lewis.
‘The Predator’ is coming into this fight off the back of a loss against current heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. He received the lesson of his life after Miocic dominated him by using a superior gameplan. An exhausted Ngannou was unable to beat the superior wrestling skills of Miocic, and he lost by decision.
Even in the 5th round though, there was still the chance that one of Ngannou’s power punches was going to decapitate Miocic. You might think that he’s got his striking nailed down, and he’d be practicing his ground game, but the footage below shows that he’s still keeping his hands sharp.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bjqd8uYBucS/?hl=en&taken-by=bigwoodmma702
Lethal
The video is taken from Syndicate MMA Coach John Wood’s Instagram. Ngannou moved his training camp there after his loss to Miocic. Before this, he was training fulltime out of the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. It will be fascinating to see how the move to Syndicate will affect his style.
Ngannou has kept a low-profile since his last fight. In the run-up to the title fight against Stipe, he was given a massive media push by the UFC, who clearly saw him as their next breakout mainstream star. With a couple of wins, there’s no doubt that he could be back up there again.
The footage shows Ngannou striking pads held by Coach John Wood. He unleashes several devastating hand combinations, while Wood goes for his leg with brutal kicks. It must be like kicking a tree trunk. His power is frightening, and at one point Wood visibly recoils. Scary stuff.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjtHaaMBqPq/?taken-by=bigwoodmma702
Massive Fight
‘The Predator’s’ next fight against the ‘Black Beast’ Derrick Lewis seems destined to be a showdown of epic proportions. Lewis is a cult hero for his post-fight interviews, where he has targeted Travis Brown and Ronda Rousey in the past. However, he’s a dangerous fighter himself, with 9 knockouts in 13 UFC appearances.
A win for either man could be enough to get a title shot – or at the very least a title eliminator. If Daniel Cormier beats Stipe Miocic – a big if – then a win for Ngannou could see that match-up made straight away. However, it might take a bit longer for him if Miocic remains champion.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjiTmP8Fkvn/?hl=en&taken-by=francisngannou
Folk Hero
The Cameroonian is a folk hero in his native country, as his inspiring story could have been written for a film script. While laboring in a sand quarry in Batie, Cameroon, he practiced boxing. He managed to save enough money to emigrate to Paris, where he lived homeless until MMA Factory coach Fernand Lopez took him in.
Remarkably, Ngannou didn’t even want to do MMA at that point. Now he’s one of the most devastating men on the planet. He’s been doing the sport professionally for less than five years. It’s incredibly inspiring. Unless you’re Alistair Overeem and had your career destroyed because of him. What a guy.
