Francis Ngannou became the UFC heavyweight champion at UFC 260 as he knocked out Stipe Miocic in a brutal manner. A left hook was the money shot for Ngannou which left the former champion out cold. In a recently surfaced video, ‘The Predator’ can be seen fine-tuning the shot along with Teddy Atlas.
The 64-year-old, Atlas, is one of the finest trainers with his most famous disciple being Mike Tyson. Working with him certainly helped Ngannou to finally become a UFC champion.
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The Cameroonian was taught thoroughly with adjustments done on him by Atlas. He landed the exact same shot on Miocic that he practices on the footage.
Ok this is pretty cool… @francis_ngannou really dialed in that counter left hook. Huge congratulations again to the new #UFC Heavyweight Champ & the full team at @XC_MMA @Eric_XCMMA @DeweyCooper. Hope to have Francis & Eric on the podcast soon! #UFC260 — https://t.co/5hCQjolpZ0 pic.twitter.com/WzAX9uMiK6
— TheFightWTA (@TheFightWTA) March 29, 2021
Ngannou became only the third African champion in the history of the UFC with his win over Miocic. Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and middleweight champion Israel Adesanya are the other two Africans holding UFC gold.
Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 27: (R-L) Francis Ngannou of Cameroon kicks Stipe Miocic in their UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 260 event at UFC APEX on March 27, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
‘The Predator’ had flattened his four opponents in a combined timing of 2 minutes and 42 seconds coming into the fight. Many expected this to be a tough test for him after his first fight against the former champion at UFC 220. However, he certainly passed it with flying colors.
Are we yet to see the best of Francis Ngannou?
Apart from his polished striking, Ngannou displayed new traits in his game. He successfully stuffed Miocic’s attempted takedown and even went on to land his own takedown on the Cleveland native. Also, his patient and calculated approach was a new side of his game fans got to see.
Imago
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – MAY 09: Francis Ngannou of Cameroon prepares to fight Jairzinho Rozenstruik of Suriname in their heavyweight fight during the UFC 249 event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on May 09, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
The champion has certainly improved a lot and is still a working progress. Which is an alarming fact for the rest of the division. He is already one of the scariest guys in the history of the sport. Further improvement will intimidate his opponents even more.
Many believed Miocic showed the blue-print to defeat Ngannou at UFC 220. But ‘The Predator’ prove he is not an one trick pony anymore and has a lot more tools to use in his arsenal, if needed, apart from his knockout power.
Are we yet to see the best of ‘The Predator‘? What did you make of him practicing the killer blow?
