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Francis Ngannou has named former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes as his toughest adversaries inside the octagon.
In a video posted to his official YouTube channel, UFC heavyweight kingpin Francis Ngannou stated:
“Well, I didn’t have a chance to explore them [my opponents], how tough they are; except of Stipe. He’s by far my toughest opponent and if I wanna bring somebody in, it’ll be Curtis Blaydes. My second fight in the UFC was Curtis Blaydes. And I was very surprised how he was moving for a wrestler and he was able to mix things up. But, yeah, those were like my two toughest opponents that I had to experience.”
‘The Predator’ – who owns a pair of victories over Curtis Blaydes – lauded him for his toughness. When asked what made ‘Razor’ a tough opponent, Ngannou said:
“Because he was pretty good. He was tough. He was able to absorb punch. He was moving pretty good for a wrestler. And he had a level change; like, well-rounded fighter.”
The 35-year-old – who’s 1-1 with Stipe Miocic – admitted that losing the first fight to Miocic hurt him. Ngannou added, however, that the loss helped him evolve into the fighter he is today.
Watch Francis Ngannou talk about his toughest opponents in the video below:
Sean O’Malley on Francis Ngannou boxing Tyson Fury
‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley, widely regarded as one of the most exciting strikers in MMA, recently weighed in on a potential matchup between Ngannou and boxing great Tyson Fury.
Ngannou has been hinting at parting ways with the UFC and possibly trying his hand at boxing. Fury, on his part, has challenged ‘The Predator’ to a boxing match with MMA gloves.
On that note, in a video posted to his YouTube channel, ‘Suga’ explained that Ngannou wouldn’t fare well in a boxing match against ‘The Gypsy King.’ O’Malley said:
“Ngannou vs. Fury potential boxing fight. If I'm being real, I've seen Ngannou throw [punches] like he doesn't have a lot of boxing skills… So if they're in a boxing ring, Francis is so big and terrifying but Tyson Fury would probably piece him up.”
Watch episode 48 of The BrO Malley Show below:
UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is scheduled to fight interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 on January 22nd. The winner of this fight will emerge as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion and is likely to defend the title against Jon Jones next.
