Rising knockout artist Francis Ngannou suffered a tough loss over the weekend. The fighter headlined UFC 220 on Saturday night, Jan. 20, inside the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Following the fighter’s failed title shot, many are now criticizing Ngannou’s corner.
Ngannou went toe-to-toe with UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in a title fight war. The fight ultimately went the distance, with Miocic earning a dominant unanimous decision victory over his opponent. During the fight, Ngannou appeared to quickly tire from the ongoing exchanges.
The fighter’s corner decided to wrap Ngannou in towels in between rounds, rather than cooling down the overheated fighter with ice. Ngannou’s corner was also rarely heard offering advice to the fighter when it came to the grappling exchanges. Consequently, the cornermen are starting to get some heat.
The UFC on FOX crew recently took a moment to break down the situation. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, UFC veteran Kenny Florian and newly joined UFC broadcast member Jimmy Smith can be heard in the video below offering their critiques of the fighter’s corner.
Jimmy Smith kicked things off by stating:
“I felt like it was a fighter that was overheating to begin with and they’re wrapping him in towels. There was no real ability to bring his body temperature down and get that energy back. And you talk about the fundamentals, the efficiency. I didn’t hear instructions, saying ‘Hey, go back to the jab. Move around a little bit. Try to wake your legs up.’
“It was almost as if once the power was gone, there wasn’t a backup game.”
Kenny Florian intermittently offered his agreement to the notions, as Jimmy Smith made his points.
Rashad Evans then stepped in and offered his thoughts:
“I don’t want to pick apart the guy’s corner. But at the end of the day when you are going against a guy that has a strong wrestling base, you better have a freaking wrestler in your corner. You have to have a wrestler in your corner.
“You have two striking coaches and their great striking coaches. But at the end of the day, they’re striking coaches. You’ve got to get a wrestler in there who is going to be able to tell you the basics or a jiu-jitsu guy.”
Kenny Florian again agreed with the rest of the UFC on FOX crew.
Check it out in the video below:
