feature-image

Imago

feature-image

Imago

Francis Ngannou has officially entered as a nominee at the ESPYS for the best MMA fighter. His name has been listed alongside three other greats who are Khabib Nurmagomedov, Amanda Nunes, and Rose Namajunas. Except for the retired fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov, every nominee is a current UFC champion in their respective division.

Terrell Owens holding Dude Wipes XL

While Namajunas is the women’s strawweight champion, Nunes is the women’s double champion, ruling the bantamweight and featherweight divisions. Ngannou sits at the top of the food chain as a heavyweight champion. Although all the four nominees were announced earlier this month, the news took a while to reach ‘The Predator’.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

ADVERTISEMENT

Ngannou’s manager, Marquel Martin, broke the news to him. After getting the good news, ‘The Predator’ celebrated by showing off his unique dance moves.

ADVERTISEMENT

Francis Ngannou a deserving nominee

Ngannou shocked the world when he defeated the former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 260. This feat was incredible as Miocic, based on his numbers, was the UFC’s most dominant heavyweight champion.

However, the accolades were brushed aside as ‘The Predator’ knocked out Miocic in the second round. Therefore, this is the reason Francis Ngannou is one of the most deserving candidate on the list.

ADVERTISEMENT

article-image

Getty

Fans can vote for their favorite nominee by visiting www.espn.in/espys.

ADVERTISEMENT

ESPYS awards were first awarded back in 1993, it stands for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award. This year awards will get televised on ABC on July 10 at 8 p.m. ET.

Some other classes and nominees

ADVERTISEMENT

Best Boxer

  • Canelo Álvarez
  • Teófimo López
  • Claressa Shields
  • Tyson Fury

Best Athlete Men’s Tennis

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Dominic Thiem
  • Novak Djokovic
  • Daniil Medvedev
  • Rafael Nadal

Watch this story:  Top 5 UFC Hype Trains That Didn’t Last Long

ADVERTISEMENT

Best MLS player

  • Alejandro Pozuelo, Toronto FC
  • Diego Rossi, Los Angeles FC
  • Andre Blake, Philadelphia Union
  • Lucas Zelarayán, Columbus Crew

Best Athlete in disability in women’s sport

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Sam Bosco, Cycling
  • Oksana Masters, Nordic & Cycling
  • Becca Murray, Wheelchair Basketball
  • Leanne Smith, Swimming

Best Athlete women’s sport

  • Naomi Osaka, Tennis
  • Simone Biles, Gymnastics
  • Amanda Nunes, UFC
  • Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm

Also read: ‘I Can’t Follow Their System’- Joe Rogan Says that He Isn’t a Fan of PFL’s ‘Wacky’ Scoring System

Who will you vote for? Let us know in the comment section below.

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Saurabh Singh

215 Articles

Saurabh Singh Laledia is an MMA enthusiast who works as a UFC writer for EssentiallySports. His passion for the UFC infused with his knowledge of various fight styles such as Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu motivated him to pursue a career in combat sports journalism, as it would be where he could exhibit his expert views and unbiased opinions whilst keeping the fan’s perspective alive. He started watching the sport at UFC 53 in 2005 when ‘The Ace’ Rich Franklin beat Evan Turner to claim the belt and has traced the journey of the middleweight title right from 'The Spider' to 'The Last Stylebender'. Akin to the fighters he covers, Saurabh believes in leading an active lifestyle and loves playing badminton.

Know more

ADVERTISEMENT