White: Ngannou could be the next big thing, literally and figuratively

[Mr.Maelstrom]

It's become pretty cliche now.....ive lost count of the number of fighters who say "I just learned that" or "I improvised is the spur of the moment"

It's just like when GSP used to say he didn't lift weights at all, then footage leaked out of him doing it....or Jon Jones saying he rarely trains when a reporter for that albequercee newspaper knew fighters at Jacksonwink that said bones and arlovski would still be sparring long after everyone else was done

It's to add to your aura or mystique(if you are good enough to have one)

I agree with you though that it can come off sounding ignorant or almost delusional in one's confidence or abilities, but it works like a charm still to this day obviously with the way we're talking about ngannou.....but make no mistake about it, he practiced that standing kimura down to perfection in training I'm sure

Hey, I'm the first to suggest a "enjoy the show, why poke holes in everything?" approach, and I hope FN is everything and more.

I always look for corners/camps displaying odd behaviors, so I hope Francis isn't surrounded by horsewomen and Edmond is all lol

 

[BryanTheFighter]

WME should be focusing on some of their current champs. i still think that with the right marketing they could make a star out of Stipe. instead we get to see the loveable housefather/fireman time and time again.

You should think that with a company like WME they could hire him a good PR manager and also give him some much needed charisma to appeal to the casual fan.

Stipe already has some spotlight on him, since he headlines PPV's and takes part of the promotion associated with that, but of course they could do more to make him something of a casual name,

UFC HW is still tremendously weak compared to some of the other UFC divisions, the median age is very high, a couple of these top 15 HW's will retire within 2 years, the need to push other younger fighters.

And it is not better for the division that Cain Velasquez might ever come back and that JDS will be suspended, the question is for how long?

Travis Browne is done considering his tremendous losing streak, same can be said about Arlowski, Fabricio Werdum has said he wont resign when his contract is up and so on.

 

[Mr.Maelstrom]

Fast track him then. I doubt he'd be a big PPV draw.

No one is outside of several outliers. So yeah, fast track. This sport needs to embrace this phase as a chance to build it up better than before. Volkan, Francis, Perry to some extent.

Might as well get to it right away, were in a valley at the moment and the line will be easier to cut

 

[Mr.Maelstrom]

ARE we giving up on Alistair being the star?

oh, its because we just were using him if he remained ubereem isnt it...

I think he's as perfectly suited as finalformareem to beat FN as he would on horsemeat. But he loses one way and one way only lol.

So it's not likely he loses to a fighter this green, but it's not unlikely he gets KOed in a fight he was winning to a lesser fighter either.

 

[The Moloko man]

Hey, I'm the first to suggest a "enjoy the show, why poke holes in everything?" approach, and I hope FN is everything and more.

I always look for corners/camps displaying odd behaviors, so I hope Francis isn't surrounded by horsewomen and Edmond is all lol

<45>
I think rousey is a once ever in a lifetime athlete when it comes to delusional in one's abilities

Even if he was capable of it, I don't think Francis can afford to be that aloof....the hungry fighters rarely are

 

[Mr.Maelstrom]

Stipe already has some spot light on him, since he headlines PPV's and takes part of the promotion associated with that, but of course they could do more to make him something of a casual name,

UFC HW is still tremendously weak compared to some of the other UFC divisions, the median age is very high, a couple of these top 15 HW's will retire within 2 years, the need to push other younger fighters.

And it is not better for the division that Cain Velasquez might ever come back and that JDS will be suspended, the question is for how long?

Travis Browne is done considering his tremendous losing streak, same can be said about Arlowski, Fabricio Werdum has said he wont resign when his contract is up and so on.

If they did more to market guys, we'd say it's too Hollywood, and forced. Fuck it, ride the low point thru and let these guys focus on fighting and not follows and likes.

<45>
I think rousey is a once ever in a lifetime athlete when it comes to delusional in one's abilities

Even if he was capable of it, I don't think Francis can afford to be that aloof....the hungry fighters rarely are

I'm talking about cornermen being yes men, being possibly in over their head with a fighter who trusts them implicitly.

Ronda wasn't some one off cautionary tale, she's your classic complacent champion with one foot turned toward the next thing.
Fighters trust their teams bc it's ingrained as a virtue to listen to your ppl and work as a team.

But if your team isn't good for you, they probably won't tell you that and risk being replaced.

Francis seems awesome as a person btw, I'm worried that due to MMA being illegal in his home country, you just hope his ppl are up to snuff.

We only find out someone was a hindrance after shit starts going sideways

 

[RafaelDosSantos]

Woodley is proof this is unlikely

 

[Mr.Maelstrom]

Woodley is proof this is unlikely

Woodley clearly fights conservatively despite typically being the stronger and faster guy.
Fans deserve more than just "Rack up these points, don't gas out trying to hurt this guy..can't lose my trinket if I don't fight any more than I have to!"

Being black is the only thing winning him fights tbh. Bunch o whiteys and old timers barely moving at half the speed of smell. If he weren't athletic, explosive and fast twitch he'd really be hated I'll tell you that

 

[12ga.]

HW seems like a toss up alot times. Human beings aren't built to be blasted with sledge hammers. I'm intrigued with the Stipe fight. Nganou's should be the one saying "don't blink"

This. Dana would be better off throwing his money on black on roulette table than black guy from Cameroon who could easily lose 4 in a row in volatile HW where every fight is a crap shoot. I'm a HW myself wrestled HW but prefer smaller fighters because skill can shine more.

 

[Fire Belly]

According to Mighty Mouse, the UFC won't do anything to promote Ngannou.

 

[aldeniro78]

What does that even mean?

 

[Roukas]

Who's the dumbass on the podcast saying "I don't see it" to Dana white saying he's gonna be the next star. Dude this guy hits harder then prime TYSON . He's got Jon Jones level reach with KO punch power . There is no one that will stand in his way

 

[HelloJapan]

The hottest young prospect in the UFC....And you say that like it's a bad thing?

 

[MyEnglishIsPeperoni]

Nga one of the most overratd fighters ever ... lel

he is black + big and dana is his girlfriend ... ofc hes the next big thing

 

[Dreaming Dead]

“Listen, when you’re a badass, language has nothing to do with it man,” said the UFC boss. “It’s all about how you – look at Anderson Silva. It’s about your performances. Listen, we think about the talking because Conor is so good. Conor is a great fighter and every time he opens his mouth it’s hilarious, you know? You find those guys once in a blue moon.”
.

Only if you are a simpleton.

 

[FrankieNYC]

Nga one of the most overratd fighters ever ... lel

he is black + big and dana is his girlfriend ... ofc hes the next big thing

But I keep hearing how DW & UFC are racist & only like white fighters?
Now DW has a thing for African-Americans?

I can't keep it anymore

 

[Rea_ctor]

http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/new...the-next-big-thing-literally-and-figuratively


These are lean times for the UFC. Last year there were five shows that did over 1,000,000 pay per view television buys. This year there have been none. PPV lives or dies on stars, and the stars are winking out, one by one. Ronda Rousey is apparently retired. Brock Lesnar was suspended for failing an anti-doping test, and is so out that the remaining six months are tolling. Conor McGregor has never defended either of the UFC belts he won. Jon Jones has had his belt removed for the third time. GSP fights next month, but hasn’t fought since 2013.

In sum, the UFC needs a new, young star.

UFC president Dana White appeared recently on The TSN MMA Show and asked who on the roster has the “it” factor to be the next star in mixed martial arts.

“I like Francis Ngannou,” said White, as transcribed byRussell Ess for BJPenn.com. “I think Francis Ngannou could be the next big thing, literally and figuratively.”

Ngannou is a perfect 5-0 so far in the UFC, with his last two fights winning performance bonuses. And he was on a four-fight win streak heading into the UFC. French is his first language, and he doesn’t engage in trash talk, in a era when trash talking in English is at least as prized as a mighty straight right. White, however, is unphased.

“Listen, when you’re a badass, language has nothing to do with it man,” said the UFC boss. “It’s all about how you – look at Anderson Silva. It’s about your performances. Listen, we think about the talking because Conor is so good. Conor is a great fighter and every time he opens his mouth it’s hilarious, you know? You find those guys once in a blue moon.”

Ngannou fights Alistair Overeem at UFC 218 on December 2, 2017. With a win there, he would get a title shot. With a win there he would be the baddest man on the planet, and perhaps the next big thing.

Haha white has worded that's disgustingly, I'd be so fucking pissed if I was Stipe reading the end part haha.

 

[g*r*b]

But the whole "I just learned that kimura backstage" thing sounds neat but either you're telling tales to seem badass, or your camp is introducing a standing sub to their fighter minutes before a fight which can get a guy stuck on trying something he hasn't dialed in yet.

Seems silly to make it up, possibly delusional if true lol.

A third possibility: English as a second language. "I just try to work today kimura" is what Ngannou said in the Octagon post-fight interview:



That may be an attempt to say "I just was working on the kimura today" i.e. I went to that move because I happened to be practicing it today and it was fresh in my mind.

But of course trust the media and fawning public to seize upon the idea that it meant he just started working on the move that day, to further the narrative that he's the great preternatural talent and Chosen One born to fulfill the destiny of a HW belt. (Which he still might be for all we know. Which is why we need to know more...)

 

[TheHawtness]

Choc Lesnar.

 

[Final Say]

Who's the dumbass on the podcast saying "I don't see it" to Dana white saying he's gonna be the next star. Dude this guy hits harder then prime TYSON . He's got Jon Jones level reach with KO punch power . There is no one that will stand in his way