Exclusive: A.J. McKee weighs in on Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira ahead of Battle of the Giants
A.J. McKee recently shared his thoughts on the upcoming heavyweight clash between Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira at the PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants event. The pay-per-view card will be showcased at The Mayadeen on Oct.19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
After his exit from the UFC, Ngannou shifted his focus to boxing and competed against two high-profile heavyweight pugilists, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. While Ngannou lost to Fury via a razor-sharp split decision last October, he was knocked out by Joshua in the second round of their bout earlier this year.
Given that Ngannou always intended to make his return to MMA after venturing into boxing, it's no surprise that he signed on for an exciting heavyweight clash against Ferreira. This will also mark Ngannou's first MMA outing since his victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, McKee opened up about the upcoming Battle of the Giants card. When asked if he's ever interacted with the former UFC heavyweight champion, the Bellator star replied:
"Yes. Yeah, he's a super nice dude. I like Francis a lot, you know? For what he stands for, not only in the cage but also out of the cage... He's a great dude."
Given that Mckee will be facing Paul Hughes on the same card, he was asked about his plans after he's done with his bout. The Bellator star admitted he planned to watch the event after his fight and said:
"Definitely. I'm going to definitely go watch... Obviously, the main event. Those are two hard hitters. Two really big guys, and all it takes is a blink of an eye, and one of them is sitting on the canvas. That's a fight that I'm really looking forward to."
Anthony Joshua reflects on boxing match against "Goliath" Francis Ngannou
Last month, British boxing icon Anthony Joshua looked back on his fight against Francis Ngannou and addressed his decision to depend on his fight IQ more than his power. As mentioned, Joshua finished Ngannou with a stunning second-round KO in their fight.
During an interview with DAZN Boxing, the Englishman gave Ngannou his flowers for pushing Tyson Fury's limits and explained how he prepared to face the Cameroonian in the squared circle. He said:
"I always look at the Ngannou fight, the guy was a juggernaut, he was massive, and I thought to myself if I only depended on strength it would have been a lot tougher fight, but due to the fact I went through a process where I tried to improve my IQ, I was able to dispatch of goliath in quick fashion. I'm not saying he was an elite boxer, but I took it on the on the premises of what he done with Tyson Fury.''
Catch Anthony Joshua's comments below (2:32):