Things did not go well for the highly hyped Francis Ngannou in Boston.
Instead of kicking off the Ngnannou era, as many expected to happen, the African born knockout artist was decisively picked apart, and beat down in the UFC 220 main event, thanks to champion Stipe Miocic’s more than effective game plan and fight strategy.
He was the odds favorite in the fight, and he was highly hyped by the UFC’s PR team, however, none of that mattered come fight night, because the UFC heavyweight champion had other plans.
Now, for the first time since losing his first bout in the UFC, Ngannou has broken social media silence, and he’s still brimming with confidence.
Here’s the top UFC heavyweight fighters reaction to his loss:
“Unfortunately it didn’t go on my way last night but I learned some different aspects of this sport and I’ll come back stronger! TRUST ME. #UFC220”
Immediately following the five round title fight, Ngannou didn’t shy away from the reality of what had just happened.
We’ve collected his statements from the night’s post-fight press conference as well, and included them below, for those of you wanting more on the African star.
Check it:
“I’ve been in this sport only four years, and I know I’ll keep learning and improving. What happened tonight was the last step for me to learn about this sport, because it’s the only thing I’ve never faced – a five-round fight, and how to deal with it. I made a mistake, and that will not happen again.”
“I came here today to win the fight. I just discovered a new part (about fighting) that I was ignorant about.”
“The problem is I underestimated my opponent, and I went too hard in the first round, and he was tougher than I thought. So (Miocic) resisted, and he put together a better game plan than me.”
“I’m going to keep improving and come back stronger than I was. I learned more (at UFC 220) than I did in the past four years.”
“I still believe I have a lot to learn,. A lot of fighters be doing this for a while, and I just doing for four years. I know that in four years, you can’t learn what people did in 15 years or for their entire life. You still have to improve, double your effort, and work harder. And that is what I’m doing, because I know I was late (to the sport).”
“Tonight, I learned that I never learned in this sport since four years. I underestimated my opponent, and I discovered some new parts of this sport that I ignored about it. I learned a lot tonight.”
