"I was like, wow!" - Teddy Atlas discusses the best things he noticed while training Francis Ngannou

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Teddy Atlas (left), Francis Ngannou (right) [Image courtesy of @teddy_atlas on Instagram]

Teddy Atlas has praised the immense athleticism of Francis Ngannou. The UFC heavyweight champion trained with Atlas for a day in 2020, and the legendary boxing trainer remains in awe of the skill and fight intelligence shown by the Cameroonian.

In the latest edition of the DC & RC show, hosted by Daniel Cormier and Ryan Clark, Atlas discussed his first impression of Ngannou when the duo met two years ago.

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"He's a very talented guy, he's a great guy... I even worked with him in the gym in Vegas. He asked me to train him for a day. All I saw was just phenomenal athleticism for a guy that big. But his cerebralness, I saw a really smart guy."

Shocked by the speed of the UFC champion, Atlas couldn't believe that Ngannou could throw a head kick and remain balanced on one leg. The trainer then pointed out that while it is impressive, he won't be throwing kicks if he is to fight Tyson Fury.

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"He learned so fast. I was showing him things and bang, he was picking them up. 'I was like, wow! My goodness.' He's smart. I saw that athleticism, I don't see guys who are 6'5", 260 pounds of solid muscle throw a kick without losing their balance. But guess what? He won't throw a kick while fighting Fury."

Watch the latest edition of DC & RC below:

Francis Ngannou has made no secret of his desire to fight Tyson Fury. The two heavyweight champions have been teasing a potential crossover bout for quite some time.

Ngannou is currently embroiled in contract negotiations with the UFC. While he has stated that he would like to stay with the promotion, he will only re-sign if the company co-promotes the Fury fight.

Speculation surrounding the nature of the bout has been the topic of much debate of late, with Fury holding a clear edge if it's a straight boxing fight. As Teddy Atlas highlighted, Ngannou's MMA skillset won't be of much help against 'The Gypsy King'.

Watch the video of Teddy Atlas training Francis Ngannou below:

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Teddy Atlas breaks down Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury

Teddy Atlas, for as much credit as he has given Francis Ngannou, doesn't believe the UFC heavyweight champion has much of a chance against Tyson Fury.

Believing that promoters will try to sell the fight as more competitive than it likely will be, Atlas only gives Ngannou a chance if the rules allow for other elements of MMA, not just boxing. In the same interview, he said:

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"If someone came to me and said, 'Hey Teddy guess what, they just changed the rules and Ngannou can take him down.' Then I'll be interested because he'll have a chance."

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