The TakedownUFC 260: Francis Ngannou might just be Dana White’s dream heavyweight champion
- UFC heavyweight title has always been advertised as MMA’s ultimate prize, a bauble reserved for ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’
- In ‘The Predator’ Ngannou, White may have finally found a champ that truly embodies that moniker
Francis Ngannou could be the kind of heavyweight champion the UFC has been trying – and failing – to cultivate since its inception.
Ngannou became the sport’s apex predator in the main event of UFC 260 on Saturday night, shutting the lights off on the great Stipe Miocic in the second round of the card’s main event. It immediately felt like the most favourable outcome possible for the UFC – one could easily imagine cage-side company president Dana White’s eyes lighting up with dollar signs like Scrooge McDuck.
The UFC heavyweight title has always been advertised as the sport’s ultimate prize, a bauble reserved for “The Baddest Man on the Planet” – a bona fide deity in the mixed martial arts pantheon.
However, the UFC has yet to find a heavyweight champion that has truly embodied that moniker.
Early champs like Randy Couture were impressive, but didn’t hang onto the title long enough to gain the kind of mythical status befitting a heavyweight title-holder. Brock Lesnar, a WWE transplant, looked like he might achieve that status, but then he ran into Cain Velasquez, a great champion in his own right who was foiled by an unfortunate string of injuries and absences. Miocic, who holds the record for the most consecutive heavyweight title defences in UFC history, clearly had the skills for greatness, but lacked the personality to capture the imagination of fans.
The UFC has had many great heavyweight kings over the years, but none that have come close to achieving the kind of legendary status we’ve seen from boxing icons like Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali.