Daniel Cormier has delivered his verdict on where Francis Ngannou ranks in the conversation of who’s truly the greatest heavyweight in the world alongside Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.
Last night, ‘The Predator’ conquered his second major MMA promotion, claiming the PFL Super Fights Heavyweight Championship belt.
Daniel Cormier thinks Francis Ngannou could be the greatest heavyweight on the planet
On October 19, at PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants, inside The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Francis Ngannou produced a devastating performance, defeating Renan Ferriera inside the opening round.
His destructive victory had a little bit of everything. The Cameroonian showed off his heavy leg kicks and successfully completed an explosive takedown, before exhibiting horrifying ground and pound to render his opponent unconscious.
After two consecutive defeats in the boxing ring to Tyson Fury, albeit controversially, and then to Anthony Joshua, fans questioned if Ngannou had anything left to give to MMA.
However, the warrior proved without a shadow of a doubt that he still has plenty left in the tank.
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‘The Predator’ particularly impressed Daniel Cormier, who believes the former UFC heavyweight King is still right up there with Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall, and could be the best of the lot.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Cormier said: “When you watch that, do you ask yourself, ‘Is Francis Ngannou still the best heavyweight in the world’? Is he?
“I don’t know if you can compare Renan to those guys; he has too many holes in his game. But when you watch Francis- what he did tonight, he does to all those guys he fought before if he doesn’t do it in more impressive fashion.
“So, I can’t say that he isn’t one of the best heavyweights in the world, because what did we see that showed slippage? What did we see that told us Francis Ngannou isn’t the guy he was when he left in 2022, when he was the UFC heavyweight champion?
“For my money, Aspinall, Francis, Jones-those guys all live in a bubble. I don’t think that you can separate one from the other, because he has not been competing in mixed martial arts.
“I think tonight, Francis Ngannou cemented himself as still one of the greatest heavyweights in the world, if not the best heavyweight fighter in the world right now.”
Jon Jones breaks his silence after Francis Ngannou finishes Renan Ferreira
While Jones stayed eerily quiet in the aftermath of Aspinall defeating Curtis Blaydes to retain his UFC interim heavyweight title, he did quite the opposite yesterday evening.
Rather than maintaining his silence, in the aftermath of the contest, ‘Bones’ headed straight to Twitter to deliver his verdict on the fight.
Surprisingly, the MMA legend actually posted quite a kindhearted message to his rival.
However, the pleasantries didn’t last long, as Jones quickly fired back at a fan who claimed Ngannou would ‘smoke him‘.
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