Who͏ is ͏the greatest heavywe͏ight fighter of all time? Some might argue it’s Da͏niel ͏Co͏rmi͏er, while others may say it’s Stipe Miocic͏ or even Jon Jones. However, according to Israel Adesa͏nya, no one has suffered and achieved͏ as much as Francis Ngannou to be ͏co͏nsider͏ed the GOAT. ‘Predator’ came back to the MMA scene a year after venturing into the world of boxing and his comeback was nothing but a banger as he defeated the 6″8 Brazilian monster, Renan Ferreira in the very first round to became the PFL heavyweight champion as well.

This feat alone makes him worthy to be a GOAT. According to Israel Adesanya, Ngannou’s story contains enough pain to make him an even bigger GOAT. Relinquishing his UFC heavyweight title was one of the most difficult and fruitful decisions that ‘The Predator’ has made. Taking harsh decisions for the betterment of his career is one reason why the former middleweight king considers Ngannou to be the heavyweight GOAT.

In a conversation on his YouTube channel, Adesanya emphasized that he is happy to witness his friend making a comeback after the tragic passing of his son, Kobe., ” Proud, inspired, and just happy to watch him do his thing because he’s gone through so much in his career. Even still, after the whole boxing thing, you know, and people were doubting him, and then he lost to AJ. People were saying, “Oh, we knew it.” It’s like people are prisoners of the moment; they forget. They forget who this man is or who people are. They’re just prisoners of the moment.’

He added, “People still hold Stipe as the greatest of all time in the heavyweight division. But I think he’s one of the greatest, and he has beaten Francis. But then Francis beat him in the worst way. But again, it’s all subjective. It’s all art; it’s all about who you like. I think Francis is the greatest heavyweight of all time right now. So yeah, I’m glad he reminded everybody why he’s the best, why he’s the one—why he’s Francis Ngannou.”

Francis Ngannou has nearly achieved every dream of a fighter. Conquering the UFC, succeeding in boxing, and dominating the PFL. It wouldn’t be fully wrong to state that he is the greatest heavyweight of all time but it can be subjective. Interestingly, after witnessing today’s performance, even Jon Jones came out of his way to appreciate the former UFC heavyweight champion.

Jon Jones praises Francis Ngannou after his epic knockout victory against Renan Ferreira

When Franci͏s Ngannou was i͏n the UFC͏,͏ booking a bout between him and Jones emerged as a priority for the fighting promotion. However, t͏he m͏atch͏ fe͏ll throu͏gh f͏or ͏various reasons. After Ngannou left the ͏prom͏ot͏i͏o͏n͏, ͏fans cal͏led for a sup͏erfight between the͏ tw͏o fighters, despite them competing ͏in dif͏ferent promot͏ions. Alth͏o͏ugh b͏oth fighters͏ never exp͏resse͏d any perso͏nal animosity, fans had different opini͏ons. Especially regarding t͏he ongoing debate about who the ͏gre͏atest of all͏ time. Reg͏ardl͏es͏s, after Ngan͏nou’s ͏phenomenal p͏erformance agai͏nst Renan Ferreira, Jon Jon͏es couldn’t ͏resist͏ reach͏ing out to co͏n͏gratul͏at͏e him.

The UFC heavyweight champion took to his X handle to write a wonderful message for the new PFL heavyweight champion, “What an amazing job Francis did tonight, displayed a complete MMA game. Great kicks, great takedowns. It feels good to see him shine. Wow congratulations Champ, I see you.” 

Well, despite this heartfelt message, a fan stated in the comment section that Ngannou would smoke Jon Jones if they fought. This statement by the fan was taken into cognizance by the heavyweight champion as he responded with, “Sure, everyone beats me up until they’re in there with me.” Their rivalry may not materialize into a fight considering the fact that Jones might retire from the sport after his battle against Stipe Miocic. Regardless, what’s your take on the match? State your thoughts in the comments below.