Francis Ngannou unimpressed by Stipe Miocic’s win over Junior Dos Santos: ‘I need more than that’

Francis Ngannou was not impressed by Stipe Miocic’s first round knockout win over Junior Dos Santos at UFC 211.

Stipe Miocic notched his second title defense at UFC 211 by knocking out former champion Junior dos Santos in the first round. For many spectators, the Cleveland-born fighter was able to inch himself a step closer to becoming one of the best heavyweights in the game today.

Number five-ranked contender Francis Ngannou, on the other hand, believes otherwise. During last Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Ngannou gave his take on Miocic’s performance last week in Dallas.

“That was a good performance, but I was not impressed, I need more than that. I would say I’m more impressed with someone like [Cain] Velasquez. I think Velasquez is the best heavyweight that we have, and that’s why I want to fight him,” Ngannou said (via MMA Fighting).

The 30-year-old Ngannou began his professional MMA career in 2013, and currently holds a record of 10-1, with all victories ending by stoppage. He is currently undefeated in the UFC since entering the company in late 2015, with his most recent win against Andre Arlovski via first round TKO last January.

Now living in Las Vegas to train full-time, Ngannou believes that with his current standing, getting a title shot would be inevitable, despite what detractors have been claiming.

“Since the beginning, even before my first fight in the UFC, people said, ‘he’s not ready, he just started MMA two years ago, they’re going to beat him up, it’s too early,’ and something like that,” Ngannou said. “But what are we going to do? You’ll always have those kinds of people. And if it’s someone that supports Stipe, of course they’re going to say you still need to improve yourself, you need to learn more, Stipe is tougher than you.”

“The reasons why I moved to Las Vegas is because right now I’m ready for all challengers. I’m ranked No. 5 right now and I could probably fight anyone right now. I already called out Velasquez but he says he’s injured, but I would like to fight him and then get a title shot.”

Francis Ngannou was not impressed by Stipe Miocic’s first round knockout win over Junior Dos Santos at UFC 211.

Stipe Miocic notched his second title defense at UFC 211 by knocking out former champion Junior dos Santos in the first round. For many spectators, the Cleveland-born fighter was able to inch himself a step closer to becoming one of the best heavyweights in the game today.

Number five-ranked contender Francis Ngannou, on the other hand, believes otherwise. During last Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Ngannou gave his take on Miocic’s performance last week in Dallas.

“That was a good performance, but I was not impressed, I need more than that. I would say I’m more impressed with someone like [Cain] Velasquez. I think Velasquez is the best heavyweight that we have, and that’s why I want to fight him,” Ngannou said (via MMA Fighting).

The 30-year-old Ngannou began his professional MMA career in 2013, and currently holds a record of 10-1, with all victories ending by stoppage. He is currently undefeated in the UFC since entering the company in late 2015, with his most recent win against Andre Arlovski via first round TKO last January.

Now living in Las Vegas to train full-time, Ngannou believes that with his current standing, getting a title shot would be inevitable, despite what detractors have been claiming.

“Since the beginning, even before my first fight in the UFC, people said, ‘he’s not ready, he just started MMA two years ago, they’re going to beat him up, it’s too early,’ and something like that,” Ngannou said. “But what are we going to do? You’ll always have those kinds of people. And if it’s someone that supports Stipe, of course they’re going to say you still need to improve yourself, you need to learn more, Stipe is tougher than you.”

“The reasons why I moved to Las Vegas is because right now I’m ready for all challengers. I’m ranked No. 5 right now and I could probably fight anyone right now. I already called out Velasquez but he says he’s injured, but I would like to fight him and then get a title shot.”