Former UFC Heavyweight: Daniel Cormier Is A Bad Matchup For Francis Ngannou

Former UFC heavyweight Pedro Rizzo believes Daniel Cormier would be a bad matchup for Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou recently became the new heavyweight champion following an impressive second-round knockout win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 late last month.

That in itself was a surprising result for Rizzo.

“I have to admit that I was expecting [Stipe] Miocic to keep the title,” Rizzo told Sherdog. “I thought he would take more risks in order to get [Francis] Ngannou in the groundm but he didn’t.

“Of course Francis deserves all the credit, but I still see Miocic as a more well-rounded fighter and if he used a less predictable strategy, he would have kept the belt.”

The attention now has been entirely on Jon Jones and whether he will end up facing Ngannou next.

And while the jury is out as to whether Jones is genuinely asking for more pay or is just scared of Ngannou, Rizzo believes the former’s heated rival in Cormier would be a bad matchup for the latter.

“Jones used to have problems with fighters of similar range, as we could see against [Alexander] Gustafsson and [Dominick] Reyes. Even gaining some weight, he is not a natural heavyweight with one-punch knockout power,” Rizzo explained. “I truly believe that if Daniel Cormier is able to get in shape again, he would be the worst matchup for Ngannou.

“Good examples of that are his fight against Derrick Lewis and both against Anthony Johnson, two beasts with impressive knockout power, and neither could stay on their feet for too long against DC. Cormier just doesn’t accept the standup fight, that´s why I believe he would be such a bad matchup for Ngannou.”

Of course, Cormier is happily retired now following his trilogy defeat to Miocic at UFC 252 in August last year. However, it’s hard to argue against his chances.

What do you think?