Who should Francis Ngannou face if Jon Jones gets the title opportunity against Stipe Miocic next?
Everything pointed at Francis Ngannou vs Stipe Miocic for the undisputed Heavyweight Championship until Jon Jones announced his move to the Heavyweight division.
The former Light Heavyweight champion vacated the title and announced his move to the surprise of many fans. Jon Jones did tease a super fight against Francis Ngannou before. However, the move has surprised many fight fans around the world. While it's brilliant news for UFC and the Heavyweight division, it puts Dana White and Co. in a precarious situation.
Jon Jones will go down as the greatest fighter in the Light Heavyweight division. The credentials stand true for Stipe Miocic in the Heavyweight division as well. Miocic created history after he became the first fighter to finish Daniel Cormier in the Heavyweight division, and backed it up with another impressive unanimous decision win at UFC 252 to further cement his position.
Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic is a fight of a lifetime and one that will distinguish the most accomplished fighter in the history of UFC. With combined notable victories over most of the greatest mixed martial artists in the history of UFC, it will be interesting to see who will come out on top in this super fight. However, there's an equally worthy contender in the form of Francis Ngannou.
Francis Ngannou, with four back to back first-round finishes is one of the fighters tipped by many to face Miocic next for the Heavyweight Championship. Even UFC President Dana White expressed his interest in a rematch after Stipe Miocic successfully defended his title against Daniel Cormier at UFC 252.
However, White seems to have gone astray from his previous statement, with reports of Stipe Miocic vs Jon Jones for the UFC Heavyweight Championship doing the rounds.
In a scenario where Francis Ngannou doesn't get the title opportunity next, who should he face next?
Francis Ngannou should face the winner of Curtis Blaydes vs Derrick Lewis
It's hard not to give Curtis Blaydes a championship opportunity with four back to back victories. Curtis Blaydes has only lost twice in his MMA career with both the losses coming against Francis Ngannou inside the UFC octagon. While Blayes has a point to prove inside the octagon against Francis Ngannou, the story is entirely different in the case of Derrick Lewis.
Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou put up what has been regarded by many fight fans as one of the most boring fights in the history of UFC. With less than 50 strikes from both the fighters in the three rounds of the fight, Derrick Lewis went on to pick a unanimous decision win over Ngannou.
There's no match-up which makes sense more than the winner of Curtis Blaydes vs Derrick Lewis for Ngannou at the moment with Alistair Overeem targeting a rematch against Jairzinho Rozenstruik to jump back in contention for the title.
Depending on the result of the fight, Francis Ngannou can either avenge his loss against Derrick Lewis or look to pick up yet another victory against seasoned grappler Curtis Blaydes.
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