Following Francis Ngannou’s unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January to remain the UFC Heavyweight Champion, the next contender to face “The Predator” for the all-important gold has never been less clear.
With rumours dying down surrounding a potential boxing match against Tyson Fury, it seems likely that Ngannou’s next fight will be defending his heavyweight title inside the octagon. Tonight’s UFC main event between Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa has a chance to bring us our next contender. If the +440 underdog Tuivasa defeats the former interim champion, it will extend his win streak to 6. If this upset occurs, a date booked for the undisputed gold will surely follow for the Australian heavyweight.
It will be hard for “Bon Gamin” to make an argument for the rematch so soon after his title defeat. However, the bookmakers expect the -580 Ciryl Gane to secure victory at home tonight in Paris. This result it seems will add little clarity to the title picture.
Shock at the Top
Tom Aspinall burst into title contention following his quick and decisive victory over Alexander Volkov in March of this year. However, a shock injury early in his main event bout against Curtis Blaydes in July slowed his momentum. Blaydes himself has now strung together a 3-fight win streak with the Aspinall TKO. But with two losses to Ngannou already – it may be a tough sell for the third fight to take place. Especially given Curtis’ last fight ended controversially.
While on the topic of controversial stoppages, let’s discuss Derrick Lewis’ home-state loss at UFC 277. The pundits seem to have largely ignored the number 5 ranked Sergei Pavlovich in the conversation for who’s next. This is likely due to the perception that Dan Miragliotta’s stoppage of that fight was premature. Lewis quickly jumped up from the canvas soon after the referee stepped in, signalling that he could continue. The Eagles MMA fighter may require another victory to truly throw his name into the hat for title contention.
A Former Champ Back on Top?
But what about contenders in the form of former UFC champions? Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones have been heavily rumoured throughout the year to be meeting at heavyweight, with it seeming all but confirmed when the bout appeared behind UFC President Dana White on a board in the war room for UFC 277 – only for the fight to never materialise.
Francis Ngannou’s head coach Eric Nicksick told MMA Fighting “The fight that makes the most sense is obviously Jon Jones, that’s the fight we all want,” and with the UFC’s desire to book Ngannou vs. Jones for the UFC 282 main event in December (per Ariel Helwani) it seems that Jones’ fabled move to heavyweight may indeed be a title clash against the Cameroonian native. Although Nicksick also added that he’d “love the Stipe fight again” and that Tai Tuivasa is certainly in line for the shot if he pulls off the upset tonight and negotiations fall through with the former light heavyweight and heavyweight champions.
With Ngannou both airing issues with his contract that he says will run out at the end of this year and recovering from knee surgery he had following his UFC 270 title defence, it is not only unclear when he will return to the cage and who his opponent will be, but whether he has fought in the octagon for the last time.
Who should be next for Francis Ngannou?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
