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LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 07: Francis Ngannou of Cameroon stands in the Octagon before facing Derrick Lewis in their heavyweight fight during the UFC 226 event inside T-Mobile Arena on July 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 07: Francis Ngannou of Cameroon stands in the Octagon before facing Derrick Lewis in their heavyweight fight during the UFC 226 event inside T-Mobile Arena on July 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC 260 is going to be one of the biggest events of the year, literally so. The main event features a title fight in the heavyweight division between the champion Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. However, this won’t be the first time they will cross paths.
Their first fight was also for the belt, and it was a fantastic affair. Stipe won the fight via decision after five rounds in an amazing display of endurance. He won all five rounds, and all three judges scored the fight 50 – 44 in favor of the American.
Ngannou looked like he was gassed out by the end of the fight, and ahead of their rematch on Saturday, he talked about it with Brett Okamoto in an interview with ESPN MMA. “I was tired, and I think everyone going to 25 minutes get tired. Some people more than some, but nobody come fresh from 25 minutes of (the) fight,” he said.
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However, things have changed now, and he has put in the work in the gym. His teammates have had rave reviews about his endurance now and Ngannou confirmed as much. “I improved my space of pushing my conditioning, my endurance, and everything. I work on that a lot,” he said.
This new and improved version of ‘The Predator’ is a scary sight for the entire heavyweight division. He has knocked his last four opponents out, and only one of them made it past a minute. Former heavyweight star Junior Dos Santos managed to last 1 minute and 11 seconds in the octagon with Ngannou.
Francis Ngannou promises a better display against Miocic than their first fight.
The development is there to see, and the Cameroonian has promised a better display than the last time. He said that he would get tired in this fight as well, but he’ll push for more. According to him, if he doesn’t get tired after 25 minutes of fighting, then something’s wrong.
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BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 20: (R-L) Francis Ngannou of Cameroon punches Stipe Miocic in their heavyweight championship bout during the UFC 220 event at TD Garden on January 20, 2018, in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“I’m not expecting to not get tired in 25 minutes because that means something is not right. I gotta be tired, but how far can I push from last time? This is the question. I truly believe that I can go way more than the last time,” he concluded.
It will be really interesting to see this beast of a man fight again. Keep your eyes glued to the screen on Saturday as Ngannou doesn’t like to keep his fights going for a long amount of time.
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Do you think Francis Ngannou has changed enough to beat Stipe Miocic?
Read More: WATCH: When Alistair Overeem Blamed the Referee for Not Stopping Stipe Miocic Fight
