5 heavyweight legends who could've beaten Francis Ngannou in their prime

After his recent win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270, there is no disputing that Francis Ngannou is right now the world’s greatest heavyweight. He probably has a claim as the greatest heavyweight of all time, too.

Francis Ngannou is clearly a great heavyweight, but could some of the best heavyweights of generations past have beaten the reigning UFC champion in their prime?

It’s hard to say given Francis Ngannou’s size, skill and punching power, but there’s definitely the possibility that had ‘The Predator’ come up against some of these legends in their prime, he may well have fallen to defeat.

Here are five heavyweight legends who could’ve beaten Francis Ngannou in their prime.

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#5. Shane Carwin vs. Francis Ngannou

In his prime, Shane Carwin possessed punching power on a similar level to Ngannou

It’s arguable that Francis Ngannou is the heaviest-hitting fighter in UFC history. He’s got plenty of evidence to back up that claim in the form of his knockouts of fighters like Alistair Overeem and Stipe Miocic.

However, one man who probably could’ve rivaled ‘The Predator’ in terms of punching power is former interim UFC heavyweight champ Shane Carwin.

Carwin fought in the UFC from 2008 through to 2011 before retiring due to a persistent back injury. While his tenure with the promotion was short, the impact he made in his time there was pretty huge.

A highly-skilled wrestler with bricks for hands, Carwin’s usual gameplan involved him taking his opponents down before battering them from the top with brutal ground-and-pound. However, he could also hurt foes standing, as the likes of Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar both found out to their detriment.

Could Carwin have beaten Francis Ngannou in his prime? It’s definitely possible. In this matchup, ‘The Predator’ would probably have had a speed advantage, but there’s no doubt that Carwin’s punching power would’ve had the potential to knock him out and he would’ve certainly had an advantage on the ground.

More interestingly, we saw on numerous occasions – namely in his fights with Gabriel Gonzaga and Junior dos Santos – that Carwin had an iron chin. That's something that would’ve served him well against Ngannou.

This certainly wouldn’t have been a guaranteed loss for Ngannou, but equally, prime Carwin would’ve stood a good chance of taking him out.

#4. Mirko Cro Cop vs. Francis Ngannou

In his prime, Mirko Cro Cop possessed absolutely deadly kicks

While he didn’t have much success in the UFC, it’s arguable that in his prime, Mirko Cro Cop was the most feared heavyweight striker on the planet.

The native of Croatia came into PRIDE after a lengthy and successful career as a K-1 kickboxer. He instantly found that his speed, natural athleticism and brutal striking were perfect for a career in MMA.

Cro Cop rapidly developed a remarkably quick sprawl that allowed him to avoid his opponent’s takedown attempts. His kicks were legendary in their brutality, particularly his left kick to the body and the head.

During his tenure in PRIDE, he defeated the likes of Josh Barnett, Wanderlei Silva and Mark Coleman. While he struggled in the UFC, it’s probably fair to suggest that by the time he arrived, he was slightly past his prime.

How would prime Cro Cop have matched with Francis Ngannou? Well, given his somewhat chinny nature, it’s definitely true that ‘The Predator’ could’ve knocked even the best version of him out with one of his sledgehammer strikes.

However, at his best, Cro Cop was remarkably elusive and could land his deadly kicks seemingly from nowhere. If he were able to avoid some early haymakers from Ngannou, then there’d definitely have been the possibility of him landing the vaunted left head kick and switching the lights off on ‘The Predator’ in the process.

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#3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Francis Ngannou

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira remains the best grappler in heavyweight MMA history

While it’s true that UFC fans never saw the best of him and that he also hung on past his prime for way too long, there’s also an argument that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is the toughest heavyweight in MMA history.

Sure, ‘Minotauro’ suffered some knockouts once he arrived in the UFC and got old, but in his prime during his PRIDE days, he seemed basically invulnerable.

Some of the shots he took from the likes of Mirko Cro Cop, Fedor Emelianenko and Heath Herring likely would’ve killed a normal man. Nogueira took them without even appearing to be stunned

Could prime Nogueira have survived a shot from Francis Ngannou, though? It’s a fair question, given that ‘The Predator’ may well be the hardest-hitting fighter we’ve ever seen inside the octagon.

However, ‘Minotauro’ did survive some serious shots from Bob Sapp. While ‘The Beast’ is now a joke of sorts, back in 2002 when he fought Nogueira he was a 320-pound slab of pure muscle who hit remarkably hard. Despite that he didn’t come close to putting the Brazilian away.

More importantly, there’s an argument to suggest Nogueira is still the greatest heavyweight grappler in MMA history, with a litany of submissions to his name. In this prospective fight, if he could’ve taken Ngannou to the ground, then he definitely could’ve tapped him out.

Overall, this fight wouldn’t have been easy even for prime Nogueira, but given his toughness, he would definitely have stood a good shot of beating ‘The Predator’.

#2. Cain Velasquez vs. Francis Ngannou

At his best, Cain Velasquez appeared to be an unstoppable force

Given that Francis Ngannou needed just 26 seconds to take out Cain Velasquez with a brutal rush of strikes when they met in February 2019, it seems crazy to suggest that the Mexican-American could’ve beaten ‘The Predator’.

However, it’s safe to say that the Velasquez who was knocked out by Ngannou wasn’t close to being in his prime. At that stage, he hadn’t fought for the best part of three years due to a variety of injuries – namely a bad one to his back – and clearly had very little in the tank.

In his prime, though? Velasquez was probably the greatest and most skilled heavyweight to ever step into the octagon.

Not only did he have a phenomenal wrestling game thanks to his background as an NCAA Division I All-American with Arizona State, but he also had a remarkably underrated kickboxing game, could throw heavy combinations at his opponents and was capable of pushing a pace nobody could match.

More importantly, he also had a rock-solid chin. He was capable of surviving bad shots from the likes of Junior dos Santos and Cheick Kongo, bouncing right back up to abuse them like a real-life version of the Terminator.

So could prime Velasquez have beaten Ngannou? ‘The Predator’ possesses the power to knock out any fighter, but whether he’d have been able to withstand the sheer pressure that Velasquez could bring is another thing entirely. In this prospective fight, Ngannou would definitely have been the underdog.

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#1. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Francis Ngannou

Fedor Emelianenko is widely recognised as MMA's heavyweight GOAT

While he’s tainted his legacy somewhat due to his terrible run in Bellator MMA and he might be persona non grata in the UFC thanks to his failure to come to terms with the promotion, there’s still an argument that Fedor Emelianenko is MMA’s heavyweight GOAT.

After all, ‘The Last Emperor’ ruled over PRIDE’s heavyweight division with an iron fist for years. He beat the likes of Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Heath Herring. He then took out former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia a little later down the line.

In his prime, Fedor’s game was about far more than just his sledgehammer right hand. The Russian was an excellent wrestler and grappler, capable of both submitting foes and destroying them with his ground-and-pound.

On the feet, meanwhile, he was a highly underrated boxer who used excellent movement and angles, carried savage power and was surprisingly fast given his less-than-svelte build.

‘The Last Emperor’ was also insanely tough, having survived some truly dire situations in his fights. That included being dropped directly onto his head by Kevin Randleman, who he submitted literally moments later.

Could Francis Ngannou have defeated prime Fedor? In all honesty, it seems doubtful. Sure, ‘The Predator’ possesses an ultimate equalizer in the form of his power, but he’d have had to have landed a perfect shot to put Fedor away.

The more likely outcome here would’ve been Fedor dancing around Ngannou on the feet before finding a way to ground him and then punishing him with heavy punches before latching onto a submission.

Put simply, while Ngannou has proven his greatness, he hasn’t quite proven himself to be on the same level as the prime version of ‘The Last Emperor’ just yet.