Francis Ngannou opens as heavy betting favorite against Derrick Lewis

With Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) seemingly uninterested in overhauling its pay structure to make a Heavyweight “super” fight between champion Francis Ngannou and G.O.A.T. contender Jon Jones, it looks like the most obvious next fight for Ngannou will be a rematch with “Black Beast” Derrick Lewis.

Lewis and Ngannou’s last fight in July 2018 was an absolute stinker that saw a seemingly gun-shy Ngannou unwilling to engage with Lewis, who seemed content to coast into a 29–28, 29–28, 30–27 unanimous decision win.

Much was made of Ngannou’s head space after the fight, with UFC President, Dana White, declaring, “His ego absolutely ran did run away with him. The minute that happens to you in the fight game, you start to fall apart. I had some personal encounters with him, as did other people in the organization, and this guy’s ego was so out of control.”

Nearly three years later, Ngannou’s ego seems back in check, and his patient performance against Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 has people wondering just who might dethrone the new “Baddest Man on the Planet.”

Not Derrick Lewis, if the bookies are to be believed.

BetOnline has released odds for the fight, which UFC tried to book for June before Ngannou refused the date. Ngannou is a big -350 favorite to Lewis’ +275 dog. Does that line seem right to you, considering Lewis’ own gnarly knockout power and his prior victory over “The Predator?”

We doubt Lewis cares too much about being such a massive underdog. He was a similar +250 dog in his most recent bout against Curtis Blaydes, and that didn’t stop him from absolutely obliterating Blaydes in the second round.