Ngannou has fought 2,5 minutes in the last 2,5 years

[MMAProfessional]

Most interesting heavy weight, 4:0 lately, yet the UFC does not book him.
He is 34, yet looks 38. C'mon UFC

It's mostly Stipe...There's not really anyone that makes sense for him to face aside from him. Ngannou is probably in a mutual agreement that he wait for his title shot.

 

[Genisys]

This is a very important and valid point.

If Ngannou gets into (at some point) another extended 5-round grinding war (or even a 3-round war) like he did against Stipe he has ONE fight's experience with how to deal with that, and in that ONE fight experience he lost, badly, thoroughly.

Now....if he keeps knocking people over in the first minute, then yes, ok, he won't have to go thru a full 3 rounds or 5 rounds but sooner or later, an opponent will evade the huge shots, and wrestle Ngannou down (probably) and keep him there and tire him out. In my opinion, he is absolutely not mentally or physically prepared for that. Nope.

He didn’t lose to Stipe because of a lack of experience in 5 round fights. He lost because his striking was sloppy, he was too aggressive and his takedown defense sucked. He doesn’t need more rounds fighting to improve those. He needs to wrestle as much as possible with a capable coach and to have the discipline to listen to his coaches when he fights. It was mentioned before that he didn’t follow the game plan during the first fight with Stipe. He could be a long reigning champ with discipline and good takedown defense.

 

[Stagliano]

He is no Vitor. He is only being fighting like for 8 years if that?

Yes. Before 2013 he didn't even know what MMA was.

He had never train any combat sport until he arrived in Paris lol. Before that his only fighting experiences was in the street.

 

[Doughie99]

They already fought twice...

He beat Curtis twice already.... and cain.

Grappling alone isn’t enough to beat francis and it never has been

ok yes I remember it was twice now, you're right.

My key point here is that I think it takes a fighter with a style like Blaydes to get Ngannou out of his comfort-zone (on the feet 95% of the time) and that is what Stipe did to him and I think that's what it'd take to beat him again. So.....to modify my point slightly....someone like Stipe or Blaydes that can wrestle, achieve solid take-downs against a big powerful guy like Ngannou and KEEP him there for a good few mins to sap his (suspect) cardiovascular endurance.

 

[Rdude92]

It is and it isn’t good for him, if he somehow gets to a point in a fight where its the third/fourth/fifth round he will have little experience. This is why in boxing getting “rounds in” is so big.

If he can finish the fight fast. Then it's great for his longevity as a fighter. What are you talking about getting experience in later rounds.
Experience in later rounds = potentially more CTE damage. As his fan I dont want that for him, a total newbie to the sport

 

[Satan's Daddy.]

Even if stipe wins, kick stipe out of the ufc.. add him to the number 60 list due to inactivity.. Don't allow fighters to get comfortable with the Conor McGregor route as champion.

 

[Final Say]

ok yes I remember it was twice now, you're right.

My key point here is that I think it takes a fighter with a style like Blaydes to get Ngannou out of his comfort-zone (on the feet 95% of the time) and that is what Stipe did to him and I think that's what it'd take to beat him again. So.....to modify my point slightly....someone like Stipe or Blaydes that can wrestle, achieve solid take-downs against a big powerful guy like Ngannou and KEEP him there for a good few mins to sap his (suspect) cardiovascular endurance.

You also need at least serviceable striking ability to avoid or mitigate his power, to hit him with your own shots to make him think and potentially goad him into some easy takedowns. It’s not that he has bad takedown defense, it’s actually decent, but you have to get him to lunge and overcommit and get off balance, plus time the takedown well.

It’s a very skillful, dangerous and delicate balance needed to beat francis. Everybody wants to make it seem like his grappling is just terrible and if you can take him down you win. Well first of all, good luck on getting the takedown. But even if you do, the fight is far from over. He’s going to get back to his feet eventually and the danger starts all over. He’s too big and too strong and has a little more skill, understanding and instinct than people give him credit for.

What stipe did in that fight is nothing short of masterful and he doesn’t get enough credit, imo. Not many people have the well rounded skill set or athletic attributes to execute that strategy on a guy so dangerous.

 

[Doughie99]

Even if stipe wins, kick stipe out of the ufc.. add him to the number 60 list due to inactivity.. Don't allow fighters to get comfortable with the Conor McGregor route as champion.

well .....Stipe has defended the UFC heavyweight championship four times now against Overeem, Dos Santos, Ngannou, Cormier.
He has also won the title twice (against Werdum and 2nd time around against Cormier).

Mr McGregor has never once ever *attempted* to defend any title, either in Cage Warriors or in UFC.
Also, at 155lbs, in his entire time with the UFC, Mr McGregor has only actually fought at 155lbs twice, which is piss-poor. ok yes, previously he was at 145lb looking very much like an Auschwitz prisoner.

Stipe's fight record is, in comparison to Mr Mcgregor's, stellar, and also this :
Since Nov 2016, Mr McGregor has fought TWICE in UFC only. Twice in over 4 years. Absolutely crap. And he's been uninjured.
Since Nov 2016, Mr Miocic has fought 5 times. So....no it's not super-frequently but it is 2.5times that which Irishman has fought in UFC in the same period.

 

[Terrorist]

No wonder he's bored

 

[Doughie99]

You also need at least serviceable striking ability to avoid or mitigate his power, to hit him with your own shots to make him think and potentially goad him into some easy takedowns. It’s not that he has bad takedown defense, it’s actually decent, but you have to get him to lunge and overcommit and get off balance, plus time the takedown well.

It’s a very skillful, dangerous and delicate balance needed to beat francis. Everybody wants to make it seem like his grappling is just terrible and if you can take him down you win. Well first of all, good luck on getting the takedown. But even if you do, the fight is far from over. He’s going to get back to his feet eventually and the danger starts all over. He’s too big and too strong and has a little more skill, understanding and instinct than people give him credit for.

What stipe did in that fight is nothing short of masterful and he doesn’t get enough credit, imo. Not many people have the well rounded skill set or athletic attributes to execute that strategy on a guy so dangerous.

100% agree with your points. To do what Stipe did against someone as dangerous as Ngannou is a great achievement.
NOBODY else has been able to do that against Ngannou. Not Cain (a very experienced wrestler, not Blaydes (Again, very wrestle-heavy guy and BIG too). Nobody has done what Stipe did.

It's probably not at all fun or easy to face Ngannou due to the massive missiles incoming right from the word go, but....everyone gotta have a game-plan on dealing with every opponent.

 

[Zarate]

maybe they're trying to push gane as fast as possible to let them bang.

stipe won't retire anytime soon. stipe x jones and both of these guys will take a one year break after that. ngannou is fucked.

 

[Final Say]

100% agree with your points. To do what Stipe did against someone as dangerous as Ngannou is a great achievement.
NOBODY else has been able to do that against Ngannou. Not Cain (a very experienced wrestler, not Blaydes (Again, very wrestle-heavy guy and BIG too). Nobody has done what Stipe did.

It's probably not at all fun or easy to face Ngannou due to the massive missiles incoming right from the word go, but....everyone gotta have a game-plan on dealing with every opponent.

Some of it is mental fortitude, very hard not to panic or do something stupid in the face of that danger. Rozenstruik and Overeem are examples.

Stipe showed no fear and simply executed. I imagine that’s pretty hard when the door closes behind francis

 

[SKITZADACTYL]

..........and my money is on probably Curtis Blaydes to be able to wrestle him down and grind him. YES I am very aware they already fought and Curtis lost but, as I say, if there's a re-run and Curtis can evade the incoming missiles and trip Ngannou of double-leg him and then *keep him there* for a few mins..... things could turn out very differently.

I don't think Ngannou's TDD is anything more than "token resistance".

francis beat blaydes twice lol, doubt theyre gonna fight again. unless one of em has the belt i guess.

 

[Natural Order]

That stat is a travesty and a testament to how embarrassing HW MMA has become.

What a waste. Shit is absolute garbage nowadays.

 

[Doughie99]

Some of it is mental fortitude, very hard not to panic or do something stupid in the face of that danger. Rozenstruik and Overeem are examples.

Stipe showed no fear and simply executed. I imagine that’s pretty hard when the door closes behind francis

yes I agree on that. It has to be scary and intimidating that 1st round with Ngannou.

But...if you sing to fight him...that's part of the deal.

I am going to predict that there will be , at some point, a repeat event of the Stipe vs Ngannou fight. I am *not* saying it will necessarily be Stipe vs Ngannou II or that Stipe WILL beat Nganou again. If Stipe gets clipped, he's going down and prob will be TKO'd. BUt....sooner or later...Ngannou will not manage to get his KO in Rd 1 or maybe Rd 2....and then....he may well grinded into a 270lb lump of meat.

I don't believe for 1 minute that Ngannou has fixed his cardio issue. Or his pacing issue. Or his wrestling issue. Or his fighting on his back issue. We just haven't SEEN that again since the Stipe fight....but....sooner or later we will see that.

He might win his next 5 fights by 1st Rd KO, and he has an excellent chance of becoming UFC HW champ, yup.
But....he is a one-trick pony and every one of those gets exposed sooner or later.

Ngannou is drinking his own Kool-Aid, every day.........

 

[Final Say]

yes I agree on that. It has to be scary and intimidating that 1st round with Ngannou.

But...if you sing to fight him...that's part of the deal.

I am going to predict that there will be , at some point, a repeat event of the Stipe vs Ngannou fight. I am *not* saying it will necessarily be Stipe vs Ngannou II or that Stipe WILL beat Nganou again. If Stipe gets clipped, he's going down and prob will be TKO'd. BUt....sooner or later...Ngannou will not manage to get his KO in Rd 1 or maybe Rd 2....and then....he may well grinded into a 270lb lump of meat.

I don't believe for 1 minute that Ngannou has fixed his cardio issue. Or his pacing issue. Or his wrestling issue. Or his fighting on his back issue. We just haven't SEEN that again since the Stipe fight....but....sooner or later we will see that.

He might win his next 5 fights by 1st Rd KO, and he has an excellent chance of becoming UFC HW champ, yup.
But....he is a one-trick pony and every one of those gets exposed sooner or later.

Ngannou is drinking his own Kool-Aid, every day.........

I have to agree. He’s special, a rare specimen and talent and will always be a nightmare fight for anybody, but he will always have some of the same holes. He’s just too late in the game as far as developing skills. Not to mention that a guy that size is always going to have cardio problems. Stipe really isn’t much smaller and even he slows down. DC the same. It’s natural, you can’t be that big and fight that hard for that long without getting tired.

 

[spinup]

Not to mention that a guy that size is always going to have cardio problems. Stipe really isn’t much smaller and even he slows down. DC the same. It’s natural, you can’t be that big and fight that hard for that long without getting tired.

It's not really an issue if everyone in the division has more or less the same limitations.
If he takes a patient approach, the opponent would be forced to walk into the fire for a prolonged period to exploit that weakness.

 

[Final Say]

It's not really an issue if everyone in the division has more or less the same limitations.
If he takes a patient approach, the opponent would be forced to walk into the fire for a prolonged period to exploit that weakness.

That’s where the push and pull of pacing and pressure starts to make the difference, like we saw in the stipe fight. Sure stipe got tired, but he’ll never be as tired as his opponent in a fight like that.

 

[superpunch]

The names in that 2:30 strike are ridiculous too.. JDS, Cain, Rozenstruik, Blaydes.. in 2 minutes holy shit!!

 

[TempleoftheDog]

It's mostly Stipe...There's not really anyone that makes sense for him to face aside from him. Ngannou is probably in a mutual agreement that he wait for his title shot.

So shut up and wait.

I'd be way more sympathetic to the guy if he hadn't already embarrassed himself in a TS. This reminds me of DC during the height of the first Covid breakout. Around May when he was on social media all the time pressuring Stipe to set the date for the trilogy only DC, his fanbase, and the UFC wanted. Personally I wanted the Ngannou rematch then. Not the trilogy. Gyms weren't even open at the time. It was pathetic, and DC's fanbase just lapped that shit up, and repeated it ad nauseum.

There is no doubt that he deserves the shot again. But, just shut up and wait until the Champion tells you it's time.