UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and Mohammed Usman. Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara – USA TODAY Sports and via Instagram (@umohammed97)
Heavyweight prospect Mohammed Usman became the TUF winner at last Saturday’s UFC event in Las Vegas. With a second-round KO, the younger brother of welterweight champion Kamaru Usman punched his way into the UFC.
One who was impressed by the performance was the heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
“A new contender was born in the heavyweight division and personally I want no business with this man Congrats brother,” Ngannou wrote after the fight.
A new contender was born in the heavyweight division and personally I want no business with this man 😂 Congrats brother @Umohammed97 🙌 pic.twitter.com/YMSEA6oPdS
Since Mohammed Usman’s older brother Kamaru, is known to be a close friend to Francis Ngannou, that might be the reason that the heavyweight king has no plans to fight Mohammed. Ngannou and Usman, alongside Israel Adesanya, are known as the three African kings of the UFC.
Francis Ngannous last fight was a title defense against the game Cyril Gane on UFC 270 in January. A fight he won via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 48-47). This was the first-ever decision win for “The Predator” in 20 professional fights.
Gane was up on the scorecards after two rounds, but the champion surprised everyone by employing a wrestling-heavy game plan and won the final three rounds.
Since then, Francis Ngannou has been through knee surgery to repair his damaged ACL and MCL.