UFC heavyweight title contender Francis Ngannou is on the verge of realizing a dream. Now just four days out from his UFC 220 title fight against champion Stipe Miocic, the African-French transplant reveals where Stipe Miocic stacks up against his prior opponents.
In a new chat with UFC.com, the world’s hardest puncher believes that despite his championship level, Stipe Miocic might be his easiest fight to date.
Chek it out:
“When I started this journey nine years ago, no one believed me, no one at all. Everyone was like, ‘Oh man, come down, that’s crazy. You can’t do that. You can’t succeed.’ And I just did my thing by myself because I always believed it. Even when I was in the hardest situation I had ever been in my life, I still had that feeling, I still believed I was going to be the world champ. I have something in me that always told me that I would do it, that I was special.”
“Mixed martial arts wasn’t my goal and I didn’t pay attention when people started telling me you were born for this, you should do this sport, you’re made for this sport. I said, ‘That’s not my problem. I want to be a boxer.’”
“Yes, I’m excited. MMA gave me the opportunity, so let’s do this. If I switch the sport, I’m going to maintain my goal to become a world champion and become the greatest.”
“It’s something natural. I just do what I have to do and it gives people that excitement and enjoyment.”
“I knew that was gonna happen. There is no way he’s not gonna go to sleep. I certainly knew that if I connected, he was gonna go down. It will be the same thing for Stipe.”
“Stipe is great as a heavyweight champ, but that was before me. In France, we say in the land of blind people, the one-eyed man is king. But when the two-eyed people come, that one-eyed man who was king falls.
“This is not going to be the hardest fight in my career. He (Miocic) might be the easiest one in my career and the hardest in his.”
“Stipe can believe what he wants to believe. Alistair believed that also, but at the end of the day, we have the result and we know who is the boss.”
“Things go very fast and sometimes I don’t realize how fast it’s gone. It’s weird because sometimes I still see myself as that guy from four years ago, saying I can’t do this, I can’t do that. And then after, yes, you can.”
Thoughts?
