What do Jon Jones, Tyson Fury, and Brock Lesnar all have in common? All three superstars, at one point or another, have been in the sights of “The Predator.”
What’s that? You didn’t know current UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou once wanted to fight Brock Lesnar? No worries, the MMA News Archives is here to remind you.
The following story was published on this day four years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 19, 2018, 3:21 PM]
Title: Francis Ngannou Wants Brock Lesnar Back In UFC
Author: Andrew Ravens
Former title contender Francis Ngannou is in an interesting spot right now in his pro-MMA career.
Ngannou has a few fight options in his future after his latest bout. As seen at the UFC 220 event at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on pay-per-view, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic successfully retained his title in the main event by scoring a dominant decision win over the title contender.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour on Monday, Ngannou addressed a potential fight with former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.
UFC President Dana White has teased the return of Lesnar to the promotion in the past. The speculation going around is that with Jon Jones being on the sidelines, Lesnar would only return to the UFC for big fights and one of those fights could be against Miocic.
The current WWE Universal Champion’s contract is up with the WWE in April after WrestleMania 34.
Lesnar has competed just once inside of the cage since 2011. The former UFC champion holds notable wins over fighters such as Shane Carwin, Randy Couture, and Frank Mir.
Hard-hitting heavyweight star Mark Hunt is the last man to have fought Lesnar in the Octagon at UFC 200 in 2016. This marked Lesnar’s return to MMA after an almost five-year retirement.
As seen in the fight, Lesnar won a unanimous decision that night which was subsequently overturned when it was revealed he failed two USADA issued drug tests before the bout. This led to Hunt filing a civil suit against Lesnar and the UFC to settle his grievances.
“Please Brock, come back, come back my friend. We need you here,” Ngannou said. “We need you to put the 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.”
“It’s up to what (the UFC) want to give me,” Ngannou said. “There are a lot of people out there who want to fight me. I saw Mark Hunt, he would be a great one. By myself, I want Brock. Brock Lesnar.”
Ngannou was gassed after the first round and lost in a lopsided fashion. Following the fight, Ngannou made it known that this fight was a major learning experience for him. Ngannou had moments of success in the opening two rounds but was unable to counter Miocic’s wrestling-heavy game plan.
“I like the fight,” Ngannou said. “He look like — I don’t know if you ever seen this guy, he looks very, very big and strong. And I really want to try that. Listen, there are the three ones who want me and me, I want Brock,” Ngannou said.
What are your thoughts on Lesnar potentially fighting Ngannou?
