One Championship Heavyweight Champion Brandon Vera Calls Out Francis Ngannou for a Belt-for-Belt Matchup

Francis Ngannou has the world at his feet right now. ‘The Predator’ violently knocked out Stipe Miocic to crown himself ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’. The options in front of Ngannou are now limitless and range from a match against the ‘GOAT’ Jon Jones to a rematch against Derrick Lewis. 

Being a champion in any weight class in the UFC means having a target on your back, as there are not only fighters from the UFC, but also from other organizations that are calling out Francis Ngannou. Ex-UFC fighter, Brandon Vera, is one such name. 

In a chat with The Schmo, ‘The Truth’ said, “That being said, maybe not now, maybe not next year, but Mr Francis Ngannou, one day, maybe we can go belt-for-belt. That’d be a good time….. I’m glad I put it out there. I’m glad the rest of the world gets to hear it. Cause it is what needs to happen sooner or later.”

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Brandon Vera slams the UFC for not paying Jon Jones enough to face Francis Ngannou

The Schmo also asked Vera who he thought would be the heavyweight champion in the UFC at the end of 2020 and if he thought a fight between Jones and Ngannou would take place. 

Vera is the current heavyweight champion at ONE Championship. He won the vacant belt against Paul Cheng with a stunning first-round knockout win. He has defended the belt twice against the likes of Hideki Sekine and Mauro Cerilli. Both defenses came via first-round knockouts. 

In his most recent fight, Aung La Nsang knocked him out in the first round and derailed his bid to become a two-division champion. Vera will hope to bounce back in his next title defense against Arjan Bhullar and keep the belt-for-belt fight alive.