Francis Ngannou Reveals Why He Talked Trash To Overeem Before UFC 218
Francis Ngannou may have been the less experienced fighter going into his UFC 218 showdown last night versus veteran Alistair Overeem, but that didn’t hinder the Cameroonian from dominating him in less than two minutes.
Ngannou pulverized Overeem with a wicked counterpunch only one-and-a-half minutes into the first round.
He revealed his motivation for such an emphatic performance during the post-fight press conference (transcribed by MMA Fighting):
“Sometimes you have to do something that you never do. I know that 80 percent, I’m gonna knock you out. The 20 percent was just like random.”
“Because he talk a little bit,” Ngannou said. “He talk a little bit and I really just wanted him to hear that I’m a little bit hungry about what he said, and I wanted to correct him.”
And while Overeem may have been the more experienced man in the cage that night, carrying over 60 MMA fights and years of professional kickboxing, Ngannou’s confidence in himself remains unparalleled in the heavyweight division.
“That is the past, man. We are talking about now. And now is me. I’m the present.”
How do you predict Ngannou would do against current champion Stipe Miocic? Is he really the future of the heavyweight division?
