After picking up his ninth straight victory by knocking out Andrei Arlovski in the very first round at UFC on FOX 23 in Denver, Colorado (see it), Francis Ngannou was quick to call out Junior dos Santos, as well as Alistair Overeem.
But, according to “The Predator,” he only asked for those two bouts since Cain Velasquez is likely still on the mend from surgery. But if the former Heavyweight champion of the world is up for it, Ngannou would rather face him next.
He explained the callout during the post-fight press conference (video replay here).
“I’m talking about Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem, but I’m just talking about them because I think that Cain Velasquez is injured. If he is okay, I am ready for him. He’s the next one, the one I would like to fight.”
Tasty matchup.
Of course, there is no timetable for Cain’s return, as the ex 265-pound champ will likely be on the shelf for a while. That said, once he is ready for a return, a matchup against Ngannou seems unlikely if we’re looking at the rankings.
Cain is sitting pretty at No. 2. while “The Predator” has yet to crack the top 10, though that will change after his big win over “The Pitbull.” Then gain, since the new ownership seems to be all about the best matchups, don’t rule out potential scrap, just yet.
Are you interested?