Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou held a special open workout for the mixed martial arts (MMA) media on Monday to promote his upcoming fight against Alistair Overreem at UFC 218 in Detroit.
The winner is expected to be next in line for a heavyweight title shot against reigning division kingpin Stipe Miocic, though Fabricio Werdum has recently thrown his name into the hat after turning away Marcin Tybura at UFC Sydney.
Ngannou doesn’t want to hear that noise.
“Stipe took the belt from Werdum, and that was not a long time ago,” Ngannou told reporters (via MMA Junkie). “Yes, Werdum deserves, but right now I deserve it more. I win this fight, I will be the legit challenger. If I beat the No. 1, there’s no way to avoid it.”
Overeem and Ngannou are ranked No. 1 and No. 4, respectively.
Ngannou — 5-0 in UFC with five finishes — was expected to collide with Junior dos Santos at UFC 215 back in July; however, “Cigano” was popped by United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the bout went up in smoke.
To see who else is fighting at UFC 218 click here.
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