Since his two-fight skid in 2018, Francis Ngannou bounced back big time with a three-fight win streak. All of those victories came via first-round knockout, his most recent one against former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos in June.
But even with this impressive run, the number two-ranked contender still feels undervalued by the company.
“The UFC have made it clear for everybody that I’m who you have to fight if you want to fight for the title,” Ngannou told MMA Junkie in a recent interview. “It seems like I’m just there to be, to go to the gate. That’s how it looks now. If they want to fight for the title, they have to fight me, but how about me fighting for the title?
“It doesn’t seem to be in the talk, so that’s exactly what the UFC has made me appear, to be the gate holder. And, yeah, I think Volkov is dodging me clearly. That’s not a secret that he’s dodging me.”
“I think all my three opponents, they had a title shot promise,” he added. “I think so, because Curtis Blaydes was title (shot) guaranteed. Cain Velasquez I think it was the same thing. Junior Dos Santos after three wins, it was the same thing. But they are just forgetting about me.”
“The Predator” called out Alexander Volkov after the latter’s win over Greg Hardy in Moscow over the weekend. He also insists that it was Volkov who repeatedly turned down their fight.
“Just for the record, Volkov turned down the fight against me twice. One was July 2017 and August 2018. He clearly denied to fight me,” he said.
Ngannou currently holds a record of 14-3 (with 14 wins by stoppage).
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