When Francis Ngannou named former WWE champion as his "dream" opponent: "Give me that f*cking fight"

Back in 2018, Francis Ngannou highlighted his most preferred matchup and it just so happened to be a man who has held both the WWE title and UFC heavyweight strap. At the time, Ngannou was fresh off his first-ever defeat inside the octagon, having been schooled by then UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.

Prior to taking on Derrick Lewis in what ultimately became one of the most widely panned fights in the promotion's history, 'The Predator' singled out Brock Lesnar as his dream foe. During an appearance on The MMA Hour, he spoke to Ariel Helwani and urged 'The Beast' to return.

"Please Brock, come back, come back my friend. We need you here. We need you to put fun in this division. I need you to give me that f*cking fight I've been waiting for for a long time, I've been dreaming for."

Check out Francis Ngannou's plea for Brock Lesnar's return (54:33):

Unfortunately for Ngannou, a bout with Lesnar never materialized. Instead, the former WWE and UFC heavyweight champion teased a title bout with then heavyweight titleholder Daniel Cormier. That bout though, also never took place, despite an in-cage post-fight confrontation between the pair.

Meanwhile, Ngannou's loss to Miocic was followed by a loss to Lewis in one of the most criticized fights in UFC history, wherein both men landed an all-time low number of strikes. Fortunately, Ngannou rebounded by authoring a six-fight win streak, avenging his loss to Miocic and capturing the title.

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Francis Ngannou fought another WWE superstar during his UFC tenure

One of the opponents Francis Ngannou defeated during his final UFC run was Cain Velasquez, who once held heavyweight gold in the promotion and also went on to have a short-lived career as a professional wrestler in the WWE. Their bout was incredibly short, with Ngannou emerging victorious.

Check out Francis Ngannou TKO'ing Cain Velasquez:

Within 26 seconds of round one, Velasquez shot for a takedown, which Ngannou defended, intercepting the former's level change with a short uppercut that dropped him. Due to the awkward angle of his fall, Velasquez also injured his knee, marking his final fight in the UFC.