Ngannou's only loss showed us that...

[Mad Dollar]

I doubt any body in division can take Francis down.. So he doesn't really need a ground game lol

 

[Myrddin Wild]

Wrestling will be Stipe's best strategy. Take him off his feet & you negate the big man's power. Stipe took Hunt down a lot... & Hunt is not easy to take down... but Stipe did it pretty easy... & that was another fight where the opponent came in with big power.

Here in this video, from the start to like the first minute or so, Forest has been in the performance institute with Ngannou & he brought up Stipe's wrestling & followed that saying that Stipe's game is more well rounded. I'm reading that to mean that Ngannou's weakness is still on the ground.

http://www.ufc.com/media/UFC-Rankings-Report-Francis-Ngannou-Takes-No-1-Spot

 

[JohnMandick]

He lost to the guy he lost to?

 

[MMonk]

I feel like a couple of those shots Ngannou landed in that fight, if they land today on Stipe, Stipe is going to sleep

Unlike Overeem, Stipe has boxing defence, chin and power wrestling to threaten.

 

[Omega Man]

True, also blaydes took him down more than once as well, that's why I think Cain in particular would be a problem for him.
Werdum would also be a problem due to his clinch and if he could get it to the ground then there's obviously a problem for ngannou

Cain yes but Werdum? Hell no. Werdum gets slept.

 

[Oj21]

Cain yes but Werdum? Hell no. Werdum gets slept.

Nah I think werdum is the toughest matchup. He honestly has the best striking at hw right now. He just outstruck and dropped overeem in July and the lost a bs decision. He's got great cardio, a great chin. He's got a good clinch with knees. And has a ground advantage over everyone in the division. The true wildcard is whether he would be able to get the takedown and that stupid bull rush he sometimes does

 

[icipher]

Nah I think werdum is the toughest matchup. He honestly has the best striking at hw right now. He just outstruck and dropped overeem in July and the lost a bs decision. He's got great cardio, a great chin. He's got a good clinch with knees. And has a ground advantage over everyone in the division. The true wildcard is whether he would be able to get the takedown and that stupid bull rush he sometimes does

Werdum is more skilled than Ngannou, for sure. That being said, Werdum would get knocked out in the first round. The size/strength/speed delta between them is huge. There's just no way Werdum could stop Francis from punching his way through Werdum's defense and fucking him up.

Skill can overcome physical superiority in many instances. Not in this one, though. Francis is just too big and physically imposing for Werdum.

 

[Oj21]

Werdum is more skilled than Ngannou, for sure. That being said, Werdum would get knocked out in the first round. The size/strength/speed delta between them is huge. There's just no way Werdum could stop Francis from punching his way through Werdum's defense and fucking him up.

Skill can overcome physical superiority in many instances. Not in this one, though. Francis is just too big and physically imposing for Werdum.

I'm not saying it's not possible, but if werdum has the right strategy he won't engage and just wait for ngannou to start gassing. He's also got a good chin. That being said anything is possible with ngannou

 

[Langinbang187]

He was a fucking noob back then. Shit happens. Ngannou could literally rape this guy today and there would be nothing he could do about it.

 

[The guest]

Stipe by KO in the first.

 

[KantoTerror]

Brother took Francis' best shots too...

 

[Cat Biscuits]

Man nothing 4 years ago is relevant today when it comes to fighting. As a matter of fact 6 months does not mean crap to a fighter who is up and coming and learning.

It's very relevant as it's most likely still a weakness he has. Ngannou's grappling and BJJ might be weak enough where someone like Werdum would make him look like nothing if the fight were to go to the ground.

Ngannou's fights have been contested on the feet, which is his best strength. Wrestlers and BJJ artists could very much make him look like an amateur despite how much he's improved. But we won't know until he's put up against one and put in a bad position.

 

[whougonnacall]

It's very relevant as it's most likely still a weakness he has. Ngannou's grappling and BJJ might be weak enough where someone like Werdum would make him look like nothing if the fight were to go to the ground.

Ngannou's fights have been contested on the feet, which is his best strength. Wrestlers and BJJ artists could very much make him look like an amateur despite how much he's improved. But we won't know until he's put up against one and put in a bad position.

The problem there is who .hw is badly suffering ffrom years of weak ufc recruitment
Cain is injured , rusty and only allowed to grind jds so badly due to jrs inability to strike going backwards (or adjust) if even a fit cain tried that vs francis or stipe hed be asleep withinn 2 rounds
Werdums bjj is elite enough that evwn competent grapplers can look bad but everyone knows that so avoid the groind with him like its lava

 

[MMonk]

The problem there is who .hw is badly suffering ffrom years of weak ufc recruitment
Cain is injured , rusty and only allowed to grind jds so badly due to jrs inability to strike going backwards (or adjust) if even a fit cain tried that vs francis or stipe hed be asleep withinn 2 rounds
Werdums bjj is elite enough that evwn competent grapplers can look bad but everyone knows that so avoid the groind with him like its lava

DC says Cain is back in training.

And Stipe is Cain's better version, IMO.

 

[jamiehunter]

Still grappling for 20+ years > fro 5 years.

You can defend for couple rounds, but if you are not conditioned for that enough,
that will show in championships rounds.

If you get there, of course.

I agree that someone's skill level after grappling 20 years is better than their skill level at 5 years. That doesn't mean another person who's grappled 20 years can out grapple a different person who's only done it for 5. We have to take into account natural ability, how quickly someone learns, different body type, etc.

To be clear I'm not suggesting Francis is a better grappler than Stipe or Cain specifically. Just disagreeing in general that the person with more years is always more skilled.

IMO Francis will have the most issues in situations where he's in the clinch and the other fighter is able to do work. I've noticed in a few of his fights he's been able to prevent his opponent from working until the ref resets them but he can't rely on the ref doing that for a fight with someone like Stipe or Cain.

 

[MMonk]

I agree that someone's skill level after grappling 20 years is better than their skill level at 5 years. That doesn't mean another person who's grappled 20 years can out grapple a different person who's only done it for 5. We have to take into account natural ability, how quickly someone learns, different body type, etc.

To be clear I'm not suggesting Francis is a better grappler than Stipe or Cain specifically. Just disagreeing in general that the person with more years is always more skilled.

IMO Francis will have the most issues in situations where he's in the clinch and the other fighter is able to do work. I've noticed in a few of his fights he's been able to prevent his opponent from working until the ref resets them but he can't rely on the ref doing that for a fight with someone like Stipe or Cain.

I agree, not only years count, but also gym.

Cain and Stipe wrestled on highest levels, have good BJJ coached.

Who does Ngannou trains his grappling with?

Handling clinch with Overeem was good, but a lot of it was raw power.
You can't power out of all bad positions, that will lead to gassing.

 

[whougonnacall]

DC says Cain is back in training.

And Stipe is Cain's better version, IMO.

Ok still doesnt alter the fact if jds coukd strike backing up like stipe or nganou can itd be very different

Stipe is very different though ma he fights as a striker who can wrestle whereas cain strikes to set up his largely grappling based style

 

[GOD...frey Jones]

Francis had barely even grappled at that stage. He was only interested in becoming a professional boxer at the start of his career.

I still see Stipe as the favourite, but god damn Francis is scary and I wouldn't bet a dime on it.

 

[Maripucci]

He’s much bigger and stronger as long as he’s well conditioned he will out muscle his opponent if he doesn’t have the technique to escape. He could catch his opponent with a shot after a scramble or a well placed knee does wonders for a shot.

 

[firstroundpick]

lets see how much gas he has in the tank and if he can go 5 rounds…