The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
From the MMA cage to the boxing ring, Francis Ngannou has fought some absolute giants in his career.
The former UFC Heavyweight Champion knocked down the likes of 6’9″ Tyson Fury in his pro boxing debut in 2023 and pounded on the almost as tall, 6’8″ Renan Ferreira, for a first-round TKO stoppage in his long-awaited MMA return in the PFL last October.
During his breakout year in the Octagon, the 6’4″ Ngannou was at one point in talks to face the tallest fighter in UFC history, who apparently didn’t want any part of the heavy-handed Cameroonian.
- READ MORE: Alexander Volkov slayed 7’0″ heavyweight giant in one of the tallest fights in UFC history
Stefan Struve turned down ‘silverback’ Francis Ngannou from UFC matchmaker
The 7’0″ Stefan Struve would have been Francis Ngannou’s tallest opponent had they fought.
‘The Skyscraper’ was in the UFC for a little over a decade and had a winning record in the promotion, with his biggest victory a second-round TKO of all-time great Stipe Miocic.
Speaking on the MMA OddsBreaker podcast with Adam Martin and Marcel Dorff, Struve revealed that the UFC wanted him to fight Ngannou during his breakout year in 2017. This was right before Ngannou picked up the ‘knockout of the year’ over Alistair Overeem.
“I had to cancel the rematch with [Junior] Dos Santos because of a shoulder surgery,” Struve said.
“And then later that year, I fought [Alexander] Volkov.
“I don’t know what Mick Maynard was thinking, but he wanted me to fight, like two or three months before that fight. He wanted me to fight Ngannou,” Struve revealed.
“So, f— him for that,” Struve said of UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard trying to pair him with Ngannou.
“Hell no….”
“But, yeah, that fight didn’t happen, but I was injured, so I had a good apology for that,” Struve continued.
“I just trained with [Ngannou] the year before for like, six weeks or so. He was in Florida. He was still looking for a team. He went to Vegas. He [came] through to train with us. It was still Blackzilians at that point, I think.
“But I trained with him, and it was a lot of fun. But of course, that silverback was wearing 18 ounce gloves, and he was taking it easy on me.
“You don’t want to fight that guy with the small gloves, man. Like, come on,” Struve said of the Ngannou fight offer.
Stefan Struve now works in MMA broadcasting
Struve, a 24-fight veteran in the UFC, announced his MMA retirement in February 2021.
However, you won’t find the 37-year-old too far away from the cage nowadays as Struve has taken up a new career in media and broadcasting.
Struve is an MMA commentator and analyst as well as a presenter and announcer.
Struve also does fight breakdowns from the gym and recently worked with current UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall for a new video.