Ex-training partner levels serious accusation against Francis Ngannou of hurting teammates in reckless sparring: "He begins to simply beat the person"

Francis Ngannou's sparring sessions have come under scrutiny after an ex-training partner of his accused him of being a dangerous sparring partner. This was said by Denis Goltsov, a Russian sambo practitioner and MMA heavyweight signed to the PFL.

During a sitdown with Ushatayka, a Russian combat sports media platform that reports on both MMA and boxing, Goltsov detailed his experience sparring with Ngannou, who he came across when he was in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, and sought training partners from Xtreme Couture.

Goltsov said:

"He kind of works [tough], yes. He doesn't know how to work. Let's just say he works the same regardless of the weight category, even if it's a women's category."

That Goltsov alleges that Ngannou doesn't distinguish between weight classes, even if his sparring partner is a woman, is alarming if true. The Russian heavyweight says this is worsened by Ngannou allegedly dealing real damage when caught in submissions during training.

"When there is training or sparring there, [during] the fight, people are on the ground fighting with him, [if] a triangle is fastened on him [and] he understands that there is no way out of there, he begins to simply beat the person. Well, I think that this says a lot about the person, about his personal qualities."

Check out Denis Goltsov detailing Francis Ngannou's sparring sessions (20:22 and 21:10):

With the two men now both competing in the PFL heavyweight division, a potential fight could be lined up, especially given that Goltsov is currently on a three-fight win streak and set to take on Oleg Popov in the 2024 PFL Heavyweight Tournament final.

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Francis Ngannou and Denis Goltsov have an opponent in common

Francis Ngannou recently triumphed over Renan Ferreira, knocking him out to capture the inaugural PFL Super Fights heavyweight title. Ironically, the Brazilian giant's 2023 PFL Heavyweight Tournament final win came against Denis Goltsov.

Check out Francis Ngannou's knockout of Renan Ferreira:

The two men have both faced Ferreira but got entirely opposing results, which could potentially serve as a narrative link in the event of a future bout between them.