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

[g*r*b]

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

It's like if your husband introduced you at parties as his "first wife." Sometimes the blatant favoritism Dana displays is unnerving and unseemly.

Luckily for his fans, Stipe gets off on being regarded lightly:

“No one ever thought I’d be the champ and look where I’m at now. I’ll keep shutting people up and that’s what I love doing. I love it. I strive off it. I get high off of it. I want you to tell me how bad I suck and how I’m going to get knocked out and how I’ve been lucky my whole career. That’s fine. All day. I’ll take it and I’ll keep shutting you up and pissing you off and then onto the next.”
https://www.mmamania.com/2017/2/21/...-you-remind-him-he-sucks-will-get-knocked-out​

 

[Munnings242]

Until he gets choked out. I think it would happen before long. Bad dude though.

Hard to take him down

 

[Jimmy Jazz]

N'Gannou is 30, he's not the next young star...that's Platinum Mike Perry.

that is not very old for a heavy weight

 

[Toco]

Pretty much sums up the HW division if a guy who's been training for like 3 years comes in and takes the crown.
HW is in an awful state right now.


I actually think Cormier would probably wreck this guy.

he's training boxing since he's 22, so 9 years training boxing

 

[Roljo]

His jab might kill Overeem

does he even have a jab ?

 

[Toco]

Reem is too crafty to let Ngannou run through him. In deep water Ngannou will gas if Reem fights smart.

deep waters, hahahaha. I like him, but overeem isn't someone to drag another fighter through deep waters

 

[Fight Professor]

That is possible. It is also possible that some of his weaknesses will get exposed against tougher competition.

 

[Mr.Maelstrom]

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...)

Thanks for posting, you're likely right

 

[BryanTheFighter]

Literally not sure what you’re talking about.

Who has ngannou beat?

What is all the hype about?

 

[ComradeFedor]

Overeem better bring a pillow

 

[whougonnacall]

Pretty much sums up the HW division if a guy who's been training for like 3 years comes in and takes the crown.
HW is in an awful state right now.


I actually think Cormier would probably wreck this guy.

Huh? Says in bio hes been training boxing since 20-22
Its just mma hes been training for 3-4 years
Having a decade or so training in one background then expanding it into mma is pretty common in most weight classes

 

[Supatune]

Overeem will finish him.

 

[PEDS Help me Post]

Huh? Says in bio hes been training boxing since 20-22
Its just mma hes been training for 3-4 years
Having a decade or so training in one background then expanding it into mma is pretty common in most weight classes

At 22 he trained for a year then stopped until he moved to France when he was 26. He was homeless there for awhile until he started training MMA. Maybe a bit more than 3 years experience but still nowhere near a full decade of boxing training.

 

[mrbaapt]

deep waters, hahahaha. I like him, but overeem isn't someone to drag another fighter through deep waters

Did you watch his fight against Hunt?

 

[Hardkore]

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.

He needs to keep winning, and keep winning in impressive fashion against some opponents with a name behind them. If he falters for a second, its going to stop any momentum he's gained thus far.

 

[VVarhead]

I think it's downright impossible for him to become a huge draw on the level of Jones or Conor.

I love his fights, his style, his personality - I just don't think that package connects with the casual audience.

 

[PEDS Help me Post]

I think there are some other elites, but they are really fragmented between all the other promotions.

For instance you’ve got Minakov fighting in Russia and Bellator, and now not even really Bellator because he’s apparently making enough just from the Russian promotion.

It seems more like the UFC is not very interested in pursuing these potentially solid HWs and they, in turn, are not that interested in the UFC.

I mean if you’re making a comfortable living, and don’t have to deal with visas, USADA, traveling expenses, and other bullshit, why would you unless there is an incredibly attractive offer?

The UFC isn’t making this offer so they don’t care.

Not trying to sound like “UFC is dying” but the UFC seems to have abandoned the idea of securing all the best talent in the world. They aren’t trying to sing these HWs and are letting more and more top guys leave to fight for other promoters.

It has the potential to undermine their position in the MMA world.

Yeah, it does seem to be a bit of a mutual disinterest at this point. Minakov said he would be signing with the UFC the day he was free of his contract, but that seems to be no longer the case. Ivanov would be good to see in the UFC as well, but hes with PFL so I don't know how interested he is in coming to the UFC, especially if its not a lucrative prospect at all.

It's definitely sad that they no longer seem to be worrying about the best talent. We are definitely not getting the high level athletes crossing over from other sports anymore. It's basically a total marketing fail.

 

[Hardkore]

I like Ngannou a lot, I seen basically all his fights now pre UFC and since he has been in UFC and he can be champ for sure, he has very crisp hands and obviously has huge power. I was worried about his TDD but so far its been good and he has improved it a lot. I can honestly see him beating Stipe, because Stipe has zero head movement, he is very stiff, I could see Ngannou knocking him out cold. And I like Stipe.

Dana is right in that Ngannou has huge talent, but to be a superstar requires so many other factors.

His lack of English is a real impediment too. Sure, he can be a star within the MMA world, but to elicit the casual fanbase he needs to speak english and have a personality.

 

[Rational Poster]

Perry is the future of Bellator mma.

Fixed that for you.

 

[PEDS Help me Post]

he's training boxing since he's 22, so 9 years training boxing

He trained for a year in Cameroon and then stopped. He then started training in MMA after he was in France when he was around 27.