
via Imago
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – APRIL 23: Francis Ngannou arrives to the UFC 261 Weigh-In at at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on April 23, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

via Imago
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – APRIL 23: Francis Ngannou arrives to the UFC 261 Weigh-In at at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on April 23, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Francis Ngannou stunned the world at UFC 270. ‘The Predator’ unleashed a wrestling heavy game and dominated Ciryl Gane to unify the heavyweight championships. Months after his win, ‘The Predator’ declared himself as a UFC double champion like ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor.
After Ngannou’s first title defense, Dana White was absent from the belt presentation ceremony, but that didn’t bother ‘The Predator’. Instead, he remained surprised as he received only one belt on January 22.
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Ngannou said, “Just after the fight, I felt great… going back as a champion. It’s supposedly ‘double champion’ because they say it was a unification. So, technically, I’m a double champ. But unfortunately, I just have one belt. I don’t know how it works.”
‘The Predator’ only beat the interim champion and not a champion from another weight category, whereas, at the company’s maiden Madison Square Garden event, the featherweight champion Conor McGregor defeated the lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez. Hence, ‘The Notorious’ received two belts, but Ngannou got just one.
Yet, ‘The Predator‘, who backed himself to test free agency after his last contractual UFC bout, remained the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion. Hence, it gives him some leverage in his upcoming contract negotiation with UFC President Dana White.
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For now, ‘The Predator’, who received surgery on his injured knee, will be out for 9 months. Given the time he will spend on the shelf, if he gets his wishes fulfilled and returns to the UFC; he may have another unification bout in front of him.
With Francis Ngannou out for 2022, Dana White hinted at another interim crown
At the UFC London post-fight press conference, White suggested that an interim championship at heavyweight is likely because of Ngannou’s extended recovery period.
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“If nine months is true, if it’s gonna take nine months for him to get cleared to start training again. I mean, that’s almost a year before he would fight. So, yeah, we would do an interim title.”
Though there was a heavily criticized interim heavyweight championship bout last year, this interim championship makes sense for the rest of the contenders in the heavyweight division.
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What do you think of Francis Ngannou’s words? Let us know in the comments.
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