UFC heavyweight title contender Daniel Cormier says he is ready to fight Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou if his highly anticipated trilogy with Stipe Miocic fails to materialize. The UFC heavyweight champion hasn’t fought since August 2019 when he defeated Miocic in their rematch to reclaim the title he lost in their first meeting.
Since that time, Miocic has undergone eye surgery to repair the damage done in the most recent fight with Cormier and lately he’s been working as a first-responder in Ohio while quarantining at home with his family with his home gym shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Miocic recently revealed that it is unlikely that he will return before August because he would need a full training camp to prepare for the fight against Cormier. This news has left UFC president Dana White very unhappy, with the UFC supremo revealing that the division “has to move on.
Cameroon’s Ngannou strengthened his case for a title shot at UFC 249 with a destructive 20-second knockout of Jairzinho Rozenstruik. “The Predator” as Ngannou is known has now won four consecutive bouts and if the UFC decides to make the belt vacant, Cormier said he would be willing to take a fight against the Cameroonian.
“If Stipe won’t fight, then Francis Ngannou has earned a title fight,” Cormier said on the UFC 249 post-fight show on ESPN. “If somebody is fighting Francis Ngannou for the title, it’s going to be me. All respect in the world to Francis Ngannou, but I’m not afraid of anyone. I’ll fight anybody on any planet.”
“I love Francis, I think he’s a sweetheart person. I would love to do my trilogy with Stipe Miocic, but if Stipe won’t fight, they’re going to take his belt just like Henry (Cejudo) gave up his and they’re going to make a fight between Francis and I for the belt. It’s as simple as that.”
“I would rather fight the trilogy fight with Stipe Miocic, I think that for everything we have meant to each other with me winning one and him winning one. That would be great for me. But if he doesn’t want to fight I want to fight my last fight. I want to fight whoever. And if it’s Francis Ngannou then I guess that’s who it’s going to be.”
Francis Ngannou was born in Cameroon where he lived in poor conditions. At the tender age of six, his parents got divorced. Unsure of his future, Ngannou was tempted to join local gangs, he resisted as he did not want to have a bad reputation like his father.
Ngannou would soon find himself working on a Cameroonian sand quarry to make ends meet. At the age of 26, he left his house and decided to travel to Europe for better opportunities. After a 14 month-long journey, he landed in France. Originally, Ngannou wanted to pursue boxing. However, on the advice of his coach, he decided to join MMA.