Francis Ngannou

UFC: Should Jon Jones take a heavyweight tune-up fight?

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UFC, Jon Jones

Arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time is going through a career transformation. Former UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones (26-1, 1 NC) is currently preparing his move to the UFC‘s heavyweight division.

The former light heavyweight champion vacated his title this year due to his desire to move up in weight. Jones has had some run-ins with the UFC this year where he asked for a release, but those talks have since faded.

Jonny Bones wanted to fight top heavyweight contender, Francis Ngannou after the pandemic had started. However, he wanted a bump in his pay which the UFC was not willing to do which caused a spat between the two sides.

Again, there seems to be no more bad blood between the two. Now, Jones is focused on getting stronger as he prepares to chase down heavyweight gold. Dana White said Jones would get a UFC heavyweight title shot whenever he makes his debut at heavyweight.

However, he could be waiting a while. Francis Ngannou is slated to take on the champion, Stipe Miocic, early next year. Currently that heavyweight title fight is being targeted for March, however, it’s not been officially announced.

That means that at the earliest, Jones likely wouldn’t get a shot at the heavyweight crown until the summer. At that point, Jones would have been out of the cage for at least 16 months. So, should Jon Jones take a tune-up fight at heavyweight?

What should the UFC and Jones do?

I’m going to say the same thing that Dana White said in that Jones should be fighting for the UFC‘s heavyweight title in his divisional debut. However, 16+ months is a long layoff for Jones who has already experienced lengthy layoffs in his career.

Let’s say Jones wants to get in a fight before the title fight. Who should the UFC pair him against? Many were saying that Jones could fight the winner of UFC Vegas 15’s main event which featured Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis.

That main event was scrapped after Blaydes tested positive for COVID. That fight is currently being re-booked for either December or January. Personally, I think it would make a lot of sense if Jones were to fight the winner.

Whoever wins that fight would be on a multiple fight winning streak. The winner of that fight would have likely been the number one contender after Ngannou if Jones wasn’t in the picture.

Reality of the situation is that the UFC will likely hold Jones until he can get a title shot. I think the winner of the Blaydes/Lewis fight will likely fight someone like Jairzinho Rozenstruik next as opposed to fighting Jon Jones.

State of the heavyweight division ahead of UFC Vegas 15

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MMA, Stipe Miocic

This weekend at UFC Vegas 15, Curtis Blaydes (14-2, 1 NC) and Derrick Lewis (24-7, 1 NC) will go head to head in a battle of top four contenders. The winner of this weekend’s fight will be squarely in the title picture.

However, the heavyweight division seems to be paused at the moment. Francis Ngannou (15-3) is the clear number one contender in the UFC‘s heavyweight division. Yet, his title fight has not been booked.

Ngannou has only fought once since the middle of 2019. He has been patiently waiting as the UFC‘s heavyweight title has been tied up for the last two years with the trilogy of Stipe Miocic (20-3) and Daniel Cormier.

Back at UFC 252, Miocic was able to finish off the trilogy with a unanimous decision win over Cormier. However, Miocic needed a little time off after the fight was over which has extended the layoff for Ngannou.

Ngannou has come out this week voicing his frustrations about his prime being wasted. The current plan is for the UFC to book the heavyweight title fight for sometime either in March or April. However, that is not confirmed.

UFC’s GOAT moving up

There’s another interesting wrinkle that’s been thrown into the UFC‘s heavyweight division and that’s Jon Jones (26-1, 1 NC). Arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world recently vacated his light heavyweight title to move up to heavyweight. 

Jones has his eyes on the UFC heavyweight title, and it’s been said that he will get a title shot in his first shot at heavyweight. However, Jones will not jump Ngannou which means we likely won’t see Jones competing for the title until the summer.

That being said, what does this weekend’s fight really mean? Without Jones, the UFC Vegas 15 winner would likely get the next shot after Ngannou. However, since Jones is moving up, the winner this weekend will likely be third in line.

Assuming either guy wouldn’t want to wait nearly a year for their title shot, the winner will likely have to take another fight. So what are the options for the winner? Well, there are a couple of options.

One option would be for the winner to take on Jairzinho Rozenstruik (11-1). Rozenstruik doesn’t have a fight booked and he’s coming off of a knockout win over Junior Dos Santos. There’s not a clear next opponent for him and he hasn’t fought either man in this weekend’s main event.

Another option would be for the winner to take on the winner of the Alistair Overeem – Alexander Volkov fight in February. Some rematches can materialize with that possibility.

I think the UFC will likely book the winner this weekend against Rozenstruik. We know that the winner this weekend isn’t getting a title shot and they’re not fighting Jones. Keep the winner active, and let them fight Rozenstruik.

UFC has a target date for Miocic – Ngannou 2 per Dana White

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MMA, Stipe Miocic

One of the more anticipated UFC title fights that has yet to be booked is the rematch between Stipe Miocic (20-3) and Francis Ngannou (15-3). The two men last fought back in January of 2018 at UFC 220 where Miocic dominated the top contender.

However, since that fight, Ngannou has turned into an even more terrifying monster. He had a bump in the road against Derrick Lewis where he couldn’t pull the trigger, but outside of that, he’s been a destroyer in the heavyweight division.

In Ngannou’s last four UFC contests, none of seen more than one minute and eleven seconds of action. Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik have all been knocked out by Ngannou in a combined 2:42.

Miocic on the other hand has spent the last two years in a trilogy with Daniel Cormier. Back at UFC 252, Miocic put the finishing touches on the trilogy with a unanimous decision victory over Cormier. However, he didn’t come through the fight without injury.

According to Dana White in an interview with TMZ, the UFC‘s heavyweight champion needed time to recover. However, the UFC does have a date planned for the rematch. According to White the rematch between the two will take place in March.

UFC’s March Heavyweight Title Fight

This seems to go right along with the timeframe that Ngannou referenced last week when he discussed his frustrations. The trilogy between Miocic and Cormier tied up the heavyweight title for the last couple of years which has been frustrating for Ngannou.

When these two men fight again, I think we are going to see a much different fight than we saw at UFC 220. Miocic really humbled Ngannou that night. Francis made that walk thinking he was indestructible, and Miocic made him feel very human.

However, Ngannou is a completely different fighter than he was then. I think he’s at his absolute best now, and I don’t know if Miocic is. I think the challenger will likely be the favorite when these two stand across from each other next March.

UFC: Francis Ngannou growing frustrated with another lengthy layoff

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Francis Ngannou

Back in May, Francis Ngannou (15-3) made a massive statement at UFC 249. Taking on the undefeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Ngannou won by knockout in a mere 20 seconds to solidify is top contender status in the heavyweight division.

For Ngannou, it was his fourth straight victory. Not just that, it was his forth straight first round knockout none of which have gone more than 71 seconds. Simply put, Ngannou is the most terrifying force in the UFC right now.

However, he hasn’t been able to get back in the cage since then. Ngannou tried to lobby for a fight with the UFC‘s pound for pound best, Jon Jones, however, that fight fell apart due to financial negotiations between Jones and the UFC. 

UFC 252 rolled around in August and Stipe Miocic defeated Daniel Cormier to retain his heavyweight title. However, Miocic is said to be out until March of next year with some injuries that he sustained the matchup against Cormier. This isn’t sitting well with the top contender.

The UFC’s heavyweight issue

The UFC has a problem on their hands in the heavyweight division. It all stems back to when Daniel Cormier won the heavyweight title. After Cormier won, it appeared that the UFC would make Cormier fight Brock Lesnar in a super fight for the heavyweight title.

However, that fight never materialized. Then a year after Cormier fought Miocic the first time, the two rematched where Miocic retained the title. Due to injuries in the rematch, it took another year for the trilogy fight to happen at UFC 252.

While all of this was going on, Ngannou was running through contenders like Cain Velasquez, Curtis Blaydes, Junior Dos Santos, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Ngannou pointed out that he’s only fought for 20 seconds in the last 16 months.

The UFC needs to get the heavyweight division moving again. If Miocic can’t go in March, I think the UFC needs to create an interim title and let Ngannou face either the winner of the Lewis – Blaydes fight or perhaps they can make the Jon Jones fight happen.

 

What should happen with the UFC 256 main event?

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UFC, Dana White

Yesterday, news broke that the welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns at UFC 256 was off. That title fight was set to be the main event for the promotions December PPV event scheduled for December 12th.

Amanda Nunes – Megan Anderson for the UFC‘s featherweight title remains on that card. However, I don’t think it’s likely that the UFC moves forward with Nunes – Anderson as the main event of that PPV. I think they have higher profile fights in mind.

ESPN reported yesterday that the UFC was considering a number of options. One option they were considering was Stipe Miocic – Francis Ngannou 2 for the heavyweight title. Another option the UFC was looking at was having Jorge Masvidal – Colby Covington headline that card.

Both of these fights are fantastic options. However, it appears that the UFC heavyweight title fight will not happen until 2021 as of now. Masvidal – Covington is a very real possibility as the UFC has been working hard to book that fight.

What should the UFC do?

While both of these options are great, I think there is a clear path for the promotion. That path would have UFC 256 headlined by the rematch between Conor McGregor (22-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC). Both men have recently agreed to a charity MMA match.

That charity MMA match was set to be on 12/12 which is the same date as UFC 256. McGregor obviously suggested that date to stick it to the promotion after the recent public back and forth. Poirier agreed to the date for the charity match.

Conor McGregor belongs in the UFC. Despite everything, he’s still the cash cow for the promotion. The UFC is booming and they’ve proved they don’t need McGregor, but if you can get him back in the octagon, you need to do it.

Not only would this be a fun fight for fans, but it would be the right fight for the division. Both men are near the top of the lightweight division, and whoever wins would have a real claim to be the number one contender to whoever wins at UFC 254.

Poirier was originally supposed to fight Tony Ferguson. However, that fight fell apart due to financial negotiations. I don’t see financial reasons being what stops this fight from happening. For the hell of it, why not put Tony Ferguson – Michael Chandler on the same card at UFC 256? This is the path I would go down if I was the UFC.

UFC: Francis Ngannou working with Teddy Atlas

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Francis Ngannou

The most terrifying heavyweight in the UFC is working on tightening up his boxing skills. Top ranked contender, Francis Ngannou (15-3), has been working extremely hard to tighten things up for another run at the UFC heavyweight title.

Ngannou fought for the heavyweight title back at UFC 220. Ngannou came into that fight with Stipe Miocic (20-3) as a big favorite despite being the challenger. The Predator also came into that fight a little over-confident in his abilities.

Despite landing some good shots in the first round, it was a one-sided beating handed out by Stipe Miocic. After that loss, a gun shy and less confident Ngannou also lost to Derrick Lewis. Ngannou looked to be lost in his UFC career.

That’s when he took on Curtis Blaydes back in November of 2018. Ngannou stormed through Blaydes in just 45 seconds. He would then go on to knockout Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik all in a combined one minute and 57 seconds.

Despite this impressive run, Ngannou still realizes that there is room for improvement. While his power is unquestionable, his technique has a lot of flaws. This is something he’s working very hard to address. He was recently seen training with Hall of Fame boxing trainer Teddy Atlas.

Future UFC champion?

The Predator is absolutely horrifying. However, if he improves his technique to go with his raw power, the UFC‘s heavyweight division is in a world of trouble. Even as is, many believe that Ngannou would be a favorite over Miocic despite the way the first fight went.

Miocic retained his heavyweight title back at UFC 252. He didn’t seem too interested in facing Ngannou in a rematch considering it was way more risk than reward. However, Dana White has continued to say that Francis Ngannou will get the next UFC title shot.

Jon Jones of course is preparing for a move to the heavyweight division. That could always throw a wrinkle into things, but I still believe the promotion will book the rematch between Ngannou and Miocic.

UFC: Dana White is interested in booking Brock Lesnar – Jon Jones

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The combat sports world has been buzzing over the past few days after learning that former UFC heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar (5-3, 1 NC), was a free agent. Lesnar’s merchandise was pulled off the WWE website, and it’s been reported that they couldn’t come to terms on a new deal.

Of course, many quickly pointed out a potential MMA return for Lesnar. Scott Coker of Bellator pointed out potentially matching him with Fedor Emelianenko. However, I believe he still has an active UFC contract. At least, Dana White said that a couple of years ago.

Lesnar was going to return to the UFC to fight Daniel Cormier after Cormier won the heavyweight title from Stipe Miocic at UFC 226. Lesnar even entered the USADA testing pool. That fight never came together, and Lesnar stayed with the WWE. Now, White seems to be interested in Lesnar fighting another top UFC star.

Lesnar – Jones in the UFC?

If Brock Lesnar is actually interested in fighting again, Jon Jones (26-1, 1 NC) is the only fight that makes real sense. I don’t see Lesnar at 43 years old coming back for a title run. He might just want to come back for one big show that’ll generate a massive payday for him.

Jon Jones is stuck right now. He’s moving up to heavyweight, but he’s not the first in line for the title. The UFC has stated over and over that Francis Ngannou (15-3) will be getting the next crack at Stipe Miocic. So until that fight, Jones will wait on the sidelines.

Nobody wants to see Jones fight a contender like Curtis Blaydes or Derrick Lewis. They want to see him fight for the title or fight someone extremely entertaining. That’s where Brock Lesnar enters the UFC‘s train of thought.

Jones has expressed interest in fighting Lesnar in the past. Lesnar always told Jones to be careful what he wished for. A Jones – Lesnar fight is really a win-win situation for the UFC. It’s not really a massive risk for Jones in fighting a 43 year old Lesnar, and it would be a big payday. As White pointed out, it would be a good introduction to heavyweight for Jones.

I’m not convinced that this fight will actually happen, but it is one that would make sense in a weird way. While it’s not the fight it once would have been, I’m all in for seeing Jon Jones fight Brock Lesnar in the UFC.

UFC: Stipe Miocic isn’t interested in a rematch with Francis Ngannou

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MMA, Stipe Miocic

Following UFC 252, it seemed like there was a pretty clear plan for the heavyweight division. Stipe Miocic (20-3) defeated Daniel Cormier to cement his legacy as the best heavyweight in UFC history.

After defeating DC for the second time, it seemed like there was a clear next challenger. Francis Ngannou (15-3) has knocked out four consecutive opponents in 2:42 total to earn a rematch with the champion, Miocic.

UFC President Dana White made it clear that Ngannou was next for Stipe. Many wondered if Jon Jones (26-1, 1 NC) would jump ahead of Francis with his move to heavyweight. White made it clear that Ngannou would be next. However, the champion doesn’t seem interested.

Stipe wants something different

In a Q&A on Instagram, Miocic stated, “Francis isn’t exciting to me. Already put on a 25 minute clinic on how to beat him. Want a new challenge!” The UFC champion is clearly wanting something other than the Ngannou rematch right now.

Ngannou deserves a shot, but Miocic does have a point. Their first fight was not close. What does Miocic really have to gain from fighting Ngannou again? That fight is way more risk than reward for the champion.

The UFC could find themselves in a pickle over this situation. What do you do if the most decorated champion in heavyweight history turns down the number one contender? The answer is actually pretty simple.

Yes, White has emphatically stated multiple times that Jon Jones will not jump the line in front of Ngannou. White did say Jones would get an immediate title shot, but Ngannou would get his first. However, Miocic might be able to force the issue with his statements.

The UFC’s dilemma

The UFC is in a unique spot, but it’s not a spot they hadn’t been in before. When Khabib Nurmagomedov was clearly deserving of the lightweight title shot a few years back, the promotion gave the shot to then featherweight champion, Conor McGregor, who wanted to move up.

I could see a similar scenario playing out here with the UFC heavyweight title. While Ngannou should get the next shot, I could see the promotion shifting to the greatest of all time facing the greatest heavyweight of all time.

Making that fight would not be fair to Francis, but it would get Stipe excited, and the fight would be a huge legacy fight. Will be interesting to see what the UFC decides to do.

UFC’s Jon Jones: “Soon, I’ll be considered the baddest man on the planet”

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UFC, Jon Jones

At UFC 252, we saw Stipe Miocic (20-3) cement his legacy as the greatest heavyweight in history with his second victory over Daniel Cormier (22-3, 1 NC). However, moments after the fight ended, perhaps the greatest fighter of all time was calling him out.

UFC Champion vs Champion?

The current UFC light heavyweight champion has long been considered the greatest fighter of all time. Jon Jones (26-1, 1 NC) has also been teasing a move to heavyweight for a long time. Earlier this year, a contract dispute broke out after he tried to fight Francis Ngannou.

It’s clear that Jones is wanting a big fight that motivates him. There would be no motivation needed if he were to fight the greatest heavyweight in UFC history in Stipe Miocic.

Miocic just came off of a grueling win over Cormier. It was an absolute battle, but Miocic proved how tough and how good he is in the conclusion of their trilogy. Stipe has only lost one fight in five years and that was the first fight to Cormier.

Outside of that, the champion has been dominant. We don’t know what is next for the champ. There were rumors of retirement, but Miocic put those to bed this week. Francis Ngannou (15-3) is waiting and wants his rematch. Ngannou deserves to be next.

However, a fight with Jones and Miocic would be massive for the UFC. The greatest heavyweight of all time going against the greatest fighter of all time sells itself. I’m not sure what the promotion does with either guy next, but it’s clear that Jones is wanting to move up sooner rather than later.

Despite rumors, Stipe Miocic not planning on retiring after UFC 252

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MMA, Stipe Miocic

Tomorrow night, Stipe Miocic (19-3) will defending his heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier (22-2, 1 NC). The trilogy fight at UFC 252 will settle the debate on who is the greatest heavyweight in the promotion’s history.

While Cormier has said that tomorrow night will be his last fight, there have been rumors about Miocic. Stipe will turn 38 years old just days after UFC 252. Many have speculated that he could ride off into the sunset with a victory tomorrow night.

If you look at Miocic’s career, there wouldn’t be much left for him to prove if he beats Cormier again. However, Miocic made it clear at the pre-fight press conference that win or lose, he’s not planning on walking away yet.

What would be next in the UFC?

“I think about retirement. But I love what I do. The moment that it starts to feel like a job, I’m out. But right now I’m good and I’m happy,” Miocic told the media.

The next fight in the UFC‘s heavyweight division is very clear. Assuming Miocic sticks to his word that win or lose he’s not retiring, the next title fight should already be setup regardless of tomorrow’s outcome.

The clear number one contender in the heavyweight division is Francis Ngannou (15-3). The Predator has knocked out four straight opponents in a combined time of 2:42. Miocic has already fought and defeated Ngannou once.

A rematch between the two men would be highly anticipated. Ngannou looks to be a completely different fighter than he was before their first fight. Miocic humbled him extremely which has fueled a fire within Ngannou.

Another big fight out there for Miocic would be the showdown with Jon Jones. Jones’ career is in limbo right now while he continues to try to work things out with the UFC. Dana White said he is waiting to hear back, but Jones might be fighting before the end of 2020.

If Miocic wins at UFC 252, the move should be the Ngannou rematch. If he wins that, there should only be one fight left for him. A massive showdown against Jon Jones.

If Miocic can go out by beating Cormier and Ngannou both a second time then going on to defeat Jon Jones, he would have an argument as the GOAT. What we do know is that the heavyweight champion isn’t planning on walking away just yet.