UFC Heavyweight, Francis Ngannou has just added a UFC Champion to his corner assortment in his second title opportunity at UFC 260 on March 27th.
The Cameroonian powerhouse would pick someone close to home by asking Nigerian-born Kamaru Usman to be one of his cornermen for the historic rematch.
The blockbuster event for the title of ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ will be against heavyweight kingpin and rival, Stipe Miocic. The reward does not just include a UFC title but also redemption for Ngannou.
“The Predator” has been hunting for the opportunity to avenge his first professional loss for 3 years now. His first meeting with Miocic would come at UFC 220 in January 2019. After a slug-it-out first round from both competitors, the champ would completely take over the fight. Over the course of 4 rounds, the gas tank in Ngannou would fade as Miocic’s wrestling would outclass him.
Miocic would go on to win a very dominant unanimous decision win. Ngannou would go gun-shy in his next fight against Derrick Lewis, losing another decision in the following months. From the defeats would come a resurgence of the African fighter.
Ngannou would collect the heads of his next four opponents in merely seconds. The streak would include names of Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos and lastly, Jairzinho Rozenstruik. All of those were each under 2 minutes.
The line-up of KOs would put the heavyweight at #1, waiting for the chance to fight Stipe Miocic. He would get his wish.
Another dream of Ngannou’s was to have his good friend and UFC Welterweight Champ be there in his corner when he mined for heavyweight gold for a second time. The favor was granted.
“Kamaru Usman is gonna be in my corner for this fight,” Ngannou said on his latest vlog. “So it’s good having him here helping me out for the fight. By this time, you need everything.”
“He’s gonna be in my corner, and it’s good for him to train where I am and to bring his own asset into the game. To have him work with us, this is like a very decisive moment leading up to the fight, so it’s very important to have him in my corner, basically helping me with my wrestling, which is great.”
