UFC heavyweight Francis NGannou’s legendary striking power is his most trusted weapon in MMA fights. Therefore, it might come as a surprise to many fight fans that the Cameroon native started his MMA career with a shoulder lock submission win back in France.
In his recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Francis Ngannou shared an account of the early days of his career as a mixed martial artist and explained how his MMA debut came about.
“Fernand (Lopez) told me ‘oh, there’s a fight in the town. You can fight there.’ Since I am doing this (MMA) out of curiosity, (I thought) let’s get a full experience out of my curiosity. I went there. It was a tournament. I’m like ‘okay, let’s get this.’ So… I won my first fight (via) submission! I don’t know… there’s not a name for that (submission). I just dragged the guy’s hand and I’m like ‘okay, I’m breaking this hand or you tap.”
Francis Ngannou reflected upon the lack of understanding of grappling in those days and told Joe Rogan that he was virtually unaware of the moves he was making in the fight. Ngannou’s submission win was the result of a popular Jiu-jitsu maneuver shoulder lock, as can be seen in the episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.
All but one of Francis Ngannou’s wins inside the UFC Octagon have come by way of submission. Ngannou defeated Anthony Hamilton via submission due to a Kimura in his third UFC fight in 2016.
Francis Ngannou’s UFC career at a glance
Currently ranked No.1 in the official UFC rankings, Francis ‘The Predator’ Ngannou (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) made his UFC debut in December 2015 and has won all 10 fights by stoppage (9 KO, 1 SUB).
Ngannou’s two career losses under the UFC umbrella were dished out to him by current heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and No.4 ranked heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis in back-to-back fights in 2018.
Francis Ngannou bounced back from the losses with a quick TKO win over No.2 ranked fighter Curtis Blaydes and has gone on to win four fights via knockout to lay a solid claim to the heavyweight title.
Ngannou will fight Stipe Miocic in a title fight rematch at UFC 260, which is scheduled to take place on March 27, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Despite having lost to Miocic in their first fight, Francis Ngannou is a -160 betting favorite heading into the rematch.
Published 11 Feb 2021, 06:36 IST
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