Curtis Blaydes believes Francis Ngannou’s swagger has gone out the window.
Blaydes is set to meet “The Predator” in the main event of UFC Beijing on Saturday morning (Nov. 24). The action will take place inside the Cadillac Arena in Beijing, China. This will be a rematch from their April 2016 encounter. Ngannou won that fight via doctor’s stoppage.
Curtis Blaydes Feels Francis Ngannou Has Lost His Way
Blaydes recently spoke to Damon Martin ahead of this weekend’s clash. He gave his thoughts on Ngannou’s poor outing against Derrick Lewis (via MMA Weekly):
“I thought he looked tentative, he looked like he didn’t believe in his striking. If you don’t believe in it, you’re not going to pull the trigger. If I can tell he’s not going to pull the trigger, I’m going to get a lot more aggressive. Obviously in the beginning, I’m going to be cautious but if I can tell that he doesn’t want to strike, I’m going to get aggressive. I think that’s his biggest issue. He seems to have lost his swagger. He doesn’t have it no more. That’s to my benefit.”
This will be a very telling fight for Ngannou. “The Predator” looked like the most dangerous man in the heavyweight division before running into Stipe Miocic and getting decimated for five rounds. His next bout against Lewis had such inactivity that referee Herb Dean had to step in to warn both fighters to engage. Lewis won that bout via unanimous decision.
Do you think Francis Ngannou’s hype has derailed for good, or can he rebound?
