My whole life Ive been hearing how heavyweight boxers (tyson, vitali, wlad, wilder, AJ, ect) would get ragdolled in mma. From the little I saw tonight, I saw a mid tier boxer (if that) knock out one of the 'goats' of the UFC in a way that I always envisioned a prime, quality boxer competing in the UFC was capable of. So school me on Ngannou. Whats his grappling background? How can mma fans talk about how AJ, Fury, Wlaf, Wilder would get owned in mma when Ngannous the heavyweight champion. What is he bringing (besides mma experience) that they arent capable of? This is a question, not a statement. Im genuinely wondering. Im not overly familiar with him. He has solid grappling that prevents him from being taken down?
Idk that much but he had a late start in MMA, he has the hardest recorded punch power. He is from Cameroon Africa. He lived homeless in the streets of Paris, France after he immigrated a large amount of times only in return to be picked up and brought back, to be left for dead. I think they said it took him 18 months to get across the border. So he definitely has a rags to riches story, and HEART. He did some boxing training with teddy Atlas as well as iron Mike showed him a few pointers. Basically I'm paraphrasing here as idk **** about MMA. Just trying to answer the question with limited knowledge awaiting someone to give a better answer. He also lost to Miocic the first time around but became a more complete package in the rematch. That little left hook was textbook, that straight jab knocked Stipe on his ass. Just a freak of nature and a natural athlete to be able to fight at an elite level with relatively low amount of experience. And also did a podcast with Joe Rogan for more information. Peace!
He also seems to be very coachable and is soft spoken. He said his people in Cameroon were up till 4 am to watch him fight tonight. He wants to do a UFC in Africa someday. He is a heroe in his hometown. Not to mention very respectful.
You know how in boxing we complain that the heavyweight lack any real talent? Now imagine what it´s like in MMA where there is a much smaller talent pool to begin with. Miocic was a Golden gloves champion with a limited amateur career and it shows in his MMA run. He clearly has some fundamentals down. But Miocic is the mid tier boxer here, not Ngannou. Ngannou is a striker with an eye for counters. In boxing he would get taken apart, but in MMA his style works. People need to realize that a traditional boxing approach in MMA has some serious flaws. McGregor himself perfectly highlighted that in his last fight. Took a wide boxing stance and got his leg chopped off. Boxers train one thing and one thing only. MMA guys train in multiple disciplines while trying to make it all work for them. And then they have to adjust to their opponent´s style as well. All in all, Ngannou is just an accurate puncher with ridiculous power. He is special but not all that skilled. Basically the Deontay Wilder of MMA. In a division with very little talent.
Miocic was a part time fireman, part time amateur boxer, with some wrestling credentials. Not to mention was old and clearly past his best, he like Ngannou, would get picked off by a prime Fedor who has trained his entire life in the art of combat. That being said I blame the Miocic loss on old age, mileage and a style that isnt suited for someone almost 40 years old. Miocic might retire after this, while the younger Ngannou can still go places.
The difference between Ngannou and guys like Fury, AJ, Wilder etc is Ngannou has a basic understanding of grappling, he started off wanting to be a boxer but he knows submissions too while those guys are just pure boxing. If you put 10 pure boxers against 10 MMA fighters then MMA will come out on top due to the fact they have more skills. Boxers don't know how to throw kicks (Look up Bowe/Tillery 1 for proof) or do submissions/wrestling etc Also I think in the heavyweight division it matters less as the heavier the weight the less skill is needed, so a guy like Wilder with his power and 1-2 years of full MMA training could do pretty well, don't think he would be champion but he has a much better will to fight than someone like Greg Hardy who came from the NFL and gets by on power but gets exposed on the ground.
Also sometimes fight fans don't like to admit that some fighters are just genetic freaks, Ngannou and Wilder those types of fighters.
None of those boxers could have defended a takedown the way Francis did, it something he has worked on.
