Report: UFC Close To Finalizing Cain Velasquez vs. Francis Ngannou
Cain Velasquez has been teasing a return on social media. Now, news has arrived that the UFC is looking to book Velasquez vs. Francis Ngannou.
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC is aiming for a February 17 match between the two top heavyweights in Phoenix, Arizona. The fight is not finalized yet but is trending in the right direction:
Velasquez has been out of action since defeating Travis Browne way back at UFC 200 in July 2016. The former champion is still regarded as one of the finest heavyweight fighters in UFC history, with injuries sapping him of a chance to become the best ever.
He won the title from Brock Lesnar in 2010 and later lost it to Junior dos Santos. Velasquez rebounded to absolutely destroy “Cigano” in two subsequent fights to complete their historic rivalry. He also demolished Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva twice. Velasquez lost the title to Fabricio Werdum in June 2015 and went on to suffer a serious bout of inconsistency due to injury.
Velasquez will have a brutal return bout in former title contender Ngannou. The Cameroonian was regarded as the clear future of the heavyweight division as early as last December. But two losses to former champion Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis brought his hype train to a screeching halt throughout 2018.
‘The Predator’ most recently rebounded in a big way with a first-round knockout over the formerly surging Curtis Blaydes at November 24’s UFC Beijing.
