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Dana White says big things lie ahead for UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou.
Expect a big 2020 for UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou.
Although Dana White wouldn’t confirm a title shot for the Cameroonian knockout artist, the UFC president said he has some ‘big fights’ lined up for ‘The Predator’ in 2020, teasing of a main event slot in France, where MMA will be recognized as an official sport by January.
“Yeah, exciting year for Francis, too, because, not only big fights for him, and potential title fight, but France,” White said in a recent interview with TMZ Sports (h/t Jon Fuentes of The Low Kick MMA). “We finally got France done. We’ve been working hard for a long time to get that place open for MMA, and we’ll do a fight there that, obviously, Francis will probably headline.
“And I don’t know if you watched the fight last weekend from Singapore, but the kid, [Ciryl] Gane, big badass heavyweight from France. No [they won’t fight each other], but they’ll both fight on that card.”
When asked about a potential opponent for Ngannou, White responded with the following statement.
“I don’t know right now. I don’t know. I don’t have an answer to that question right now.”
Ngannou, 33, has been itching for a rematch with Stipe Miocic ever since his knockout win over Junior dos Santos at UFC on ESPN 3. The MMA Factory product lost in a title bout to Miocic last year but feels he has done more than enough to earn a rematch after netting three-straight knockout victories Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez and JDS. The UFC, however, is looking to book a championship trilogy bout between Miocic and Daniel Cormier, which means Ngannou could be forced to accept another fight in the new year.
Expect an official fight announcement in the coming weeks.