Francis Ngannou has been tearing up the UFC Heavyweight division for the last few years. His first surge saw him have scary knockout wins over the likes of Alistair Overeem. However, he failed to beat Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic and then lost to Derrick Lewis in one of the worst UFC Heavyweight bouts ever.
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However, KO wins over the likes of Junior Dos Santos, Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik has Ngannou well-positioned to be Stipe’s next challenger. He knows that and told ‘The Schmo’ that he has already asked for a date from the UFC.
“Man, I think that question belongs to the UFC, but I request for December 12, last PPV of the year. Almost over two months from today, but I am expecting to have that date.”
He also spoke about his previous loss to Stipe and how he would avoid falling into the same wrestling traps as last time.
“Work a lot on my game and get a better training camp. And that will definitely not happen again. When I look back to that fight, I see a lot of opportunities that I could have had if I really was well prepared.”
Francis Ngannou: The natural next heavyweight title contender?
In terms of the resumes of the current heavyweights, there is no question that Ngannou is next in line for a title shot. He has done more than enough to earn it. You could say he earned it before his sensational knockout of Rozenstruik, but that just proved the point further. No heavyweight has been able to make it to the second minute of a fight with Ngannou, let alone a second round.
However, Jon Jones moving up to the division has clouded the future. Stipe has completed his trilogy and sent Daniel Cormier into retirement. So does Jones get the next shot by virtue of his LHW resume (like Cormier did), or does the rightful challenger Ngannou get it? Does the UFC book Jones and Ngannou in a true number one contender match?
It seems very unlikely that we see such a big fight added to the December card (UFC 256) now, but it would be a terrific way to cap off a pretty bad year for everyone.
