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Shaquille O'Neal has always been associated with the MMA world and is especially close with UFC president Dana White. The former NBA star spoke to Brett Okamoto from ESPN and was also joined by White.
Talking about a variety of topics, 'Shaq' was asked what he would do if things went south during a basketball match with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
While Shaquille O'Neal wasn't keen on fighting Ngannou per se, he said he would try taking advantage of the size of the basketball court in a scuffle with the UFC heavyweight champion. Revealing his defensive strategy, Shaquille O'Neal told Brett Okamoto:
"Well, I gotta defend myself. I’m not saying I wanna fight the guy. Listen, the thing about me is I’ve always been smart. I’m not a fighter. You don’t step into this guy’s world and start talking smack unless you can defend it."
"Now, if he comes at me on my court, I got some rules. I got a couple of elbows that could like… A basketball court is much bigger than a ring, so I gonna try to get the first one. Then I just gotta split until Dana (White) break it up," added Shaquille O'Neal.
Francis Ngannou once picked up Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal also recalled a visiting Ngannou during a training session. According to O'Neal, 'The Predator' had no difficulties picking up the 325-pounder. While also praising Francis Ngannou following his recent win, Shaquille O'Neal said:
"When I saw him training, I could tell he wanted to be a champion. That man was working hard, he was hitting like a machine, he was working hard, he was hitting the bag very hard. Then he came and picked me up. Dana knows, no man has ever picked me up. I’m not saying I’m a great MMA fighter but I’m pretty nice with the hands."
"But he picked me up with ease. I was like, ‘Goddamn, this dude is strong!’ So when he fought the other day, I was like, ‘I gotta watch him.’ And I knew coming in, he was in great shape, he was hitting hard and he was determined. This was something that he wanted," added Shaq.
