The Rock, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Stephen A.Smith and others react to Francis Ngannou being crowned champion at UFC 260

Francis Ngannou (L) and The Rock (R)
Francis Ngannou (L) and The Rock (R)

Francis Ngannou defeated Stipe Miocic in the main event at UFC 260 to become the new UFC heavyweight champion. Ngannou connected a huge left hand which rocked Miocic and followed it up with a short left hook that sent him crashing to the canvas at 00:52 in the second round.

In the aftermath of Francis Ngannou's title win, several celebrities, personalities and MMA fighters have reacted via Twitter. People like the Rock, Stephen A.Smith, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Israel Adesanya and Teddy Atlas all weighed in.

While Khabib Nurmagomedov congratulated the continent of Africa on its third UFC champion, Israel Adesanya also celebrated the fact by labelling him, Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou as 'THREE KINGS'.

Hollywood superstar the Rock had congratulations for Ngannou, but took a moment to acknowledge the 'GOAT' worthy run of Stipe Miocic.

Francis Ngannou was previously defeated by Stipe Miocic at UFC 220 in a somewhat lacklustre display. However, Ngannou emerged as a much more evovled fighter in the rematch, having successfully defended the takedowns before picking up a signature knockout win.

Francis Ngannou believes there is unexplored MMA talent in Africa

With three undisputed champions in the UFC there is hardly any doubt that the continent of Africa is a hotbed of MMA talent. The UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou believes that, given the opportunity, African fighters possess the talent to completely take over the sport. In the lead up to UFC 260 ,Francis Ngannou told DAZN News in an interview-

Look at the UFC roster. Less than 20 Africans. But with a little bit of chance, by March 28, we’ll have three African champions in the UFC, which is very, very high representation regarding the number of Africans in the UFC. Imagine all those Africans having as fair a chance as others in a competition. I think they’re just going to take over the sport, completely dominate the sport. I know a lot of people out there doing way more better than us — meaning better than me, better than Usman, better than Adesanya — but they don’t have the opportunity to showcase their talent.

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