Francis Ngannou left the UFC before fulfilling every MMA fan’s dream of a showdown with Jon Jones, but, during the period in which ‘Bones’ was preparing to make the jump to heavyweight, the fighter known as ‘The Predator’ was demolishing his opponents and becoming the UFC heavyweight champion.
Unfortunately, when JBJ became available, Ngannou walked away from one of the biggest events the sport had to offer after Dana White failed to meet several of his demands.
It was then that the idea of a boxing crossover became a reality, and this Saturday he’ll face Tyson Fury.
Fury and Ngannou face off ahead of ‘Battle of the Baddest’ in Riyadh
Francis Ngannou’s rise to the top in UFC
Ngannou‘s breakthrough in the UFC came after defeats to Derrick Lewis and Stipe Miocic by unanimous decision.
The Cameroonian-French fighter then strung together four first-round knockout victories.
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He went through hard-hitting fighters and true KO artists such as Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos and Jairzinho.
In doing so, he earned a rematch with Miocic, who was the defending champion after his trilogy with Daniel Cormier.
The iconic American succumbed this time to an increasingly hardened Ngannou and ceded the throne.
There was no longer any doubt that the biggest punch in MMA belonged to Ngannou.
Then ‘The Predator’ dominated a good striker like Gane, although he left the UFC after just 14 fights.
Can Ngannou KO Tyson Fury?
Regarding his fight with Tyson Fury this Saturday, it is clear who will manage the tempo and distance, and who knows all the secrets of boxing.
The question is whether the former UFC champion will be able to get through to his opponent to land some power punches and have a chance of a surprise knockout.
Surviving 10 rounds of boxing, with Fury feinting, jabbing and clinching, it could be a long time for Ngannou to wait.
As such, there is no doubt that at some point before the halfway point of the fight he will try to close the distance and come in with one of his powerful hooks or iconic one-twos, and that is perhaps the only chance he has of shocking the world.
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