Francis Ngannou Hasn’t Spoken To Dana White In Over A Year
Francis Ngannou is officially back in the heavyweight title picture after knocking out Cain Velasquez (watch it here) in the main event of last night’s (Sun., February 17, 2019) UFC on ESPN 1 from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
The win gave Ngannou back-to-back first-round knockouts, righting the wrongs of two brutal decision losses last year. ”The Predator’ is calling for a title shot at champ Daniel Cormier as a result. Dana White has other plans for “DC,” even if Cormier would gladly beat down the hulking striker.
It’s tough to say if Ngannou truly deserves a title shot following his two huge rebound wins. But it doesn’t really matter at this point because it appears he’s not getting it. A big portion of that may be due to the perceived beef between White and Ngannou. That discord hasn’t really been deciphered as of yet. It started when White said Ngannou’s ego had “gotten out of control” following his lackluster loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC 226.
”The Predator’ revealed on today’s episode of “Ariel Helwani‘s MMA Show” (via TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter) that he hasn’t
Stipe Rematch?
Due to the bad blood brewing between him and White, Ngannou has to know he probably won’t be getting a title shot anytime soon.
That’s apparently okay with him. Ngannou said he’s willing to rematch Stipe Miocic, the former champ who demolished him back at UFC 220, instead:
There’s a major problem with booking that fight, however. Miocic has repeatedly campaigned for a rematch with the man who took his belt last year in Cormier. It remains to be seen if that’s the bout that will be booked. But in the meantime, there’s little to no reason for Miocic to accept a fight with a dangerous foe who he already beat handily last year.
So while the future may look bright for the once-again rising Ngannou, it also appears quite uncertain.
