Francis Ngannou's massive power can be a curse just as much as it is a gift, says Henry Cejudo
According to Henry Cejudo, Francis Ngannou's power is as much a 'curse' as it is a 'gift'. Ngannou last fought Ciryl Gane and successfully defended his heavyweight title in a five-round barnburner at UFC 270. The fight with 'Bon Gamin' was Ngannou's last fight on his UFC contract.
A potential fight between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou was being targeted for the former light heavyweight champion's return. 'The Predator' and the UFC, however, failed to reach an agreement. Francis Ngannou did not sign a new contract with the UFC and is now a free agent and has been stripped of the title.
Taking to his YouTube channel, Henry Cejudo gave a breakdown of the UFC 270 fight between 'The Predator' and 'Bon Gamin,' and also spoke at length about Ngannou's punching power.
Here's what the former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion said:
"Francis Ngannou has power! And he's been able to use his threshold accordingly, when he's been able to knock people the hell out. Literally, like make them go limpo, like make them go to another planet."
While heaping praise on the punching power of 'The Predator,' Cejudo also said that Francis Ngannou's strength is also his weakness. 'Triple C' continued:
"I got to give credit where credit is due, even though I feel like this [his punching power] is his greatest gift, but also his worst gift too, because - he lives by the sword, he knocks you out or he could get potentially stopped. We saw that in the [first] fight that he had with Stipe [Miocic] - the one's that he did lose, [where he was] completely losing his energy."
Skip to 14:13 for the breakdown:
Much-awaited Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou super fight will probably never come to fruition
Much to everyone's disappointment, an MMA fight between Ngannou and Jon Jones will probably never materialize. Francis Ngannou is no longer going to fight in the UFC after having failed contract negotiations with the promotion.
Dana White spoke at length about Ngannou's departure. Here's what he said:
"We offered Francis a deal that would have made him the highest paid heavyweight in the history of this company - more than [Brock] Lesner, more than anybody. And he turned the deal down."
Dana White on Ngannou's departure:
Ngannou gave his side of the story in a video posted to his YouTube channel. In the video, he said that he valued his freedom more than anything, alluding to the fact that he felt trapped in the UFC.
Check out Ngannou's side of the story:
Now that he's a free agent, Ngannou could potentially compete in what could be one of the biggest fights in boxing against World Boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. A fight with Fury could earn 'The Predator' more money than he could have possibly made in the UFC.