Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier and more: 5 fighters who match up well against UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou

The UFC heavyweight division is currently under the rule of Francis Ngannou. As the resident king of the weight class, 'The Predator' sits on a throne coveted by every other heavyweight in the division.

Back in 2018, he was recovering from a lopsided defeat to then-champion Stipe Miocic. While Miocic initially seemed like a bad stylistic matchup for Ngannou, the Cameroonian phenom retooled his overall game to return with a four-fight win streak, comprising four devastating first-round knockouts, to earn another title shot.

Ngannou was a different fighter going into his second UFC championship bout. In the rematch with Miocic, the result couldn't have been more different. He emerged victorious, outwrestling and outstriking his foe en route to a second-round knockout victory.

The new UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou put together an incredible 5 fight win streak culminating in the title!

✅ Curtis Blaydes
✅ Cain Velasquez
✅ Junior dos Santos
✅ Jairzinho Rozenstruick
🏆 Stipe Miocic

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After his last victory over Ciryl Gane, 'The Predator' seemed all but unbeatable in the UFC. However, there are fighters who can realistically trouble him, and this list details five UFC fighters who can match up well against Francis Ngannou.

#5. Cain Velasquez

Francis Ngannou and Cain Velasquez have already crossed paths and it ended poorly for the former Mexican-American heavyweight. While Velasquez later confirmed that he was dropped and out on his feet prior to his knee buckling, many still believe that the former UFC heavyweight champion's loss was due to a freak injury.

Regardless, Velasquez's loss does not discount the advantages he possesses over 'The Predator'. Ngannou's striking style relies on his height and reach. He stands from the outside while patiently applying forward pressure before leaning away from his opponent's strikes and countering them as they overextend.

That was a nasty shot landed by Cain Velasquez! JDS showed alot of heart!! #UFC #MMA http://t.co/DcRTO9D2X6

Cain Velasquez is built to nullify his opponent's reach and height advantages. The former heavyweight champion quickly closes the distance while keeping his head in constant motion. Upon entering range, Velasquez immediately seeks a clinch, where he shoves his head against his opponent's jaw to break their posture as he pins them against the fence.

Due to Francis Ngannou's long limbs, he is poorly suited to in-fighting since he doesn't fold his arms to throw elbows. Furthermore, Ngannou's cardio isn't the best, and the pace that Velasquez pushes in every bout could prove draining. Without the space to generate enough leverage in his punches, 'The Predator' will find his punching power undercut by a smothering Velasquez.

#4. Ciryl Gane

Like Cain Velasquez, Ciryl Gane has already faced Francis Ngannou inside the octagon. Unfortunately, 'Bon Gamin' was unsuccessful in his efforts to capture undisputed UFC gold. However, the bout revealed interesting dynamics regarding the kickboxing exchanges between Ciryl Gane and Francis Ngannou.

Against Ciryl Gane, Francis Ngannou did not enjoy the usual size advantage he often has. The Frenchman is an inch taller than his Cameroonian rival, undercutting Ngannou's reach advantage by one inch. Furthermore, 'Bon Gamin' is primarily a kicker, enabling him to fight from a longer range than his foe, who rarely throws kicks.

Ciryl Gane fighting IQ #UFC270:

Don'Tale Mayes starts switching from southpaw back to orthodox while exiting out the kicking range. Ciryl(southpaw) recognizes the opening & lands left roundhouse kick to the body.

Mayes backs up & was visibly hurt by the kick. They reset.

1/2 https://t.co/pQUWK1LRsZ

Since Ciryl Gane typically bounces around on the outside while battering his opponent's legs and midsection with kicks, he never steps in close enough for Francis Ngannou to catch him overextending. Instead, it was Ngannou who kept overextending and missing, which led to his cardio depleting.

What won the Cameroonian the bout was his surprising use of wrestling. Gane was ill-prepared for his takedowns since no one could have expected Ngannou to resort to a wrestling gameplan. If Gane is fully prepared for takedowns, he'll prove to be an even stiffer test for Ngannou.

#3. Tom Aspinall

While he is currently nursing a knee injury that robbed him of a title eliminator against Curtis Blaydes, Tom Aspinall is one of the most exciting talents in the UFC heavyweight division. Additionally, his unique set of skills render him a highly threatening matchup for Francis Ngannou.

The Englishman is an extremely fast heavyweight, whose speed makes him difficult for the more lumbering competitors in his division to keep up with. Specifically, Aspinall uses his speed to hop into range with a sharp jab-right cross combination. He also relies on a myriad of feints to draw his opponents into committing to ill-timed counters.

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— Last fight, submitted Alexander Volkov in London via armbar while favored @ -136

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Since Francis Ngannou is a conservative counter-puncher who explodes the moment he eyes an opening, he's a prime target for the Englishman to bamboozle. Tom Aspinall's feints would likely trick 'The Predator' into exploding into a counter-punch. Unfortunately, the Englishman often does so to set up his takedowns.

The moment his opponents square their hips as they try to intercept him, Aspinall ducks under their punches and shoots in with a fast double-leg takedown. If Ngannou squares his hips to throw a punch, he'll be overexposing his hips for Aspinall's takedowns and endangering himself to his slick submisisons.

Additionally, Aspinall mixes up his wrestling and striking enough that once Ngannou starts to expect takedowns, the Englishman will instead catch him with punches over the top.

#2. Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier will likely never fight in the UFC again. 'DC' captured promotional gold in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. Throughout his career, he introduced fight fans to two distinct versions of himself.

Initially, the former two-division champion was a suffocating wrestler with the sport's best high-crotch single-leg takedown. Many of Cormier's highlight reels include his high-crotch single-leg takedowns. That version of him would effortlessly outwrestle Francis Ngannou if need be.

Daniel Cormier knocking out Stipe Miocic. Whew!!

https://t.co/b9JH6PrGuJ

However, when Daniel Cormier captured UFC heavyweight gold, he was a different fighter. With the exception of his bout against Derrick Lewis, Cormier rarely wrestled due to his aging and recurring back injuries. Instead, 'DC' became an in-fighter with a game built around nullifying his opponent's reach advantage.

Francis Ngannou possesses a powerful jab that his combinations are built off of. Unfortunately, for him, Cormier specializes in countering the jab. In the second half of his career, he often fought with both his hands extended forward. This allowed him to trap his opponent's jab by grabbing their wrist and throwing a looping punch over the top.

While doing so left Cormier exposed to body shots, Ngannou is mainly a headhunter whose only true attack towards the midsection is a body-jab. Not only did Cormier counter the jab exceptionally well, but trapping his taller opponent's punches created an opening for the clinch by allowing him to slide inside his foe's arm.

Once inside, Cormier is a dangerous in-fighter who quickly secures a single-collar tie. With it, he yanks his opponent's head down, breaking their posture and tugging his opponent's skull into a thunderous uppercut. Alternatively, whenever his opponents try to exit the clinch, he intercepts them with hooks since most fighters drop their hands when stepping out of the clinch.

#1. Jon Jones

Strangely, Jon Jones will likely struggle to outwrestle Francis Ngannou. The former UFC light heavyweight kingpin's style of wrestling is best suited for shorter foes who don't match his dimensions. Jon Jones' double-leg takedown relies on his arms being long enough for him to hook his hands behind his foe's legs as they spread them out to widen their base.

Alas, against opponents who match or exceed his physical dimensions, he struggles. This is because someone who is 6'4" or over is tall enough that when they widen their base, their legs are spread too wide for even Jones to hook his hands behind. It's why a lesser wrestler like Alexander Gustafsson was able to fend off his takedowns and even secure his own takedowns.

Jon Jones kicks https://t.co/Xcu17hj3dZ

Jon Jones' wrestling success against him only arose after the Swede tore his groin. However, Jones does not need to outwrestle Francis Ngannou to defeat him.

In fact, Jones rarely needs to wrestle anyone at all to win at this stage in his career. Like Ciryl Gane, 'Bones' is a dynamic kicker who operates from a very long range. Ngannou will be the one overextending as he tries to intercept his foe.

What he will find is his lead knee being snapped back by either a push kick or an oblique kick. Not only will doing so keep Ngannou from entering range, it will also prevent him from loading any weight on his lead leg, ultimately undercutting his punching power and mobility.

Less mobility means 'The Predator' won't be able to time 'Bones' with his counters efficiently, allowing Jones to enter the clinch with relative ease. The former 205-pound titleholder remains an extremely dangerous fighter inside the clinch. His use of the thumbs-down wrist grip forces his foes to pull their arms downwards.

This is due to the thumb being the anchoring point of any grip. If he points his thumbs at the mat, his opponents must pull their arms towards the ground, exposing their heads to elbows over the top. While Ngannou might not be outwrestled by Jones, he'll be brutally outstruck.

Jones & Ngannou went at it 👀 https://t.co/hTFN4RLMzE