UFC News: Francis Ngannou slams UFC for treating him like a gatekeeper, aims shot at Alexander Volkov
There's no denying that Francis "The Predator" Ngannou is the scariest man in the UFC Heavyweight Division. Despite having lost his title fight to Stipe Miocic and then an underwhelming defeat to Derrick Lewis, he's now back on track following three consistent first-round knockouts.
His victims, of course, happened to be of the highest caliber, namely - Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez, and Junior Dos Santos. It's clear that he's deserving of a title shot but given the Stipe Miocic-Daniel Cormier situation, the Cameroonian has been itching to get back in the Octagon.
Despite not having to do so, he called out Alexander Volkov for a fight and in an interview with MMA Junkie, expressed his frustrations over UFC treating him like a gatekeeper:
“The UFC have made it clear for everybody that I’m who you have to fight if you want to fight for the title.
“It seems like I’m just there to be, to go to the gate. That’s how it looks now. If they want to fight for the title, they have to fight me, but how about me fighting for the title?
“It doesn’t seem to be in the talk, so that’s exactly what the UFC has made me appear, to be the gate holder. And, yeah, I think Volkov is dodging me clearly. That’s not a secret that he’s dodging me.”
He revealed that Alexander Volkov denied a fight against him not once, but twice - the first time in July 2017 and the second in August 2018.
We're yet to see whether Volkov accepts Ngannou's challenge, but The Predator won't want to wait too long to get back in the Octagon, especially given that he's taken minimal damage over the last year.
If the Cormier fight doesn't work out, then a Miocic rematch will be in the books for Ngannou.