![]() Part of that outlook comes from what brought him here and what lies ahead. He's the guy that should be getting this shot."įor Ngannou (15-3), who will finally get another shot at Miocic (20-3) and the heavyweight crown at UFC 260 on Saturday, there have been moments of frustration in the past two years, but throughout the delay in getting his second chance, he has remained positive, believing that his time would come. "If you think about the last time he lost to Stipe, that was 2018, and it took him all the way until now, 2021, to get it back - but he's done it. You always have to work your way back to the title, because there is always someone next in line who is deserving of it," UFC president Dana White said. ![]() All this time, during which Ngannou felt he was ready to be champion, he has been forced to wait for that opportunity. There have been only four heavyweight title fights in the past three years, and three of them consisted of a trilogy between two men: Miocic and Daniel Cormier. The UFC's heavyweight division has moved remarkably slow since 2018. It's like, 'This dude is about to kill somebody.'" And when that cage door closes, it's something different. "There's something alarming about his calmness in the back, before a fight. "This is as close as you can get to the Mike Tyson effect," said Eric Nicksick, Ngannou's head coach. His past four wins have ended in highlight-reel knockouts, in 45, 26, 71 and 20 seconds. Because when Ngannou is on, he is capable of things that, frankly, no other heavyweight in the history of MMA can replicate. Had he been right, and had he been granted an opportunity to prove it, he might have been a superstar by now. He felt his experience and preparation had caught up with his talent. He added a new head coach, a social media manager and at least a dozen others to assist with everything from training to sports psychology to marketing.Īnd by early 2019, one year after coming up short against Miocic, Ngannou believed he was ready to rule. He hired an agent, who assembled a support system around him. He established his camp in Las Vegas, instead of splitting it between there and France, where he previously lived. I was in the air, but I didn't know where to land."įollowing that loss, Ngannou revamped everything. ![]() ![]() "I hadn't found my spot in life at that moment. "I was sitting in my hotel room before the fight and was like, 'What's after this?' I didn't even know exactly, if I won, where I would go from the fight location. "I still remember I was asking myself, 'How does it feel to fight a third round?' How do I prepare for a title fight?'" Ngannou told ESPN. Take nothing from Miocic, who was terrific that night in Boston, but Ngannou was so inexperienced, so overwhelmed by the speed in which he'd gotten there. The truth about that fight, however, was that Ngannou wasn't ready to be a champion. 20, 2018, when Stipe Miocic outclassed Francis Ngannou to defend his UFC heavyweight title. ![]()
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