Francis Ngannou will fight again in the UFC by June, according to Cody Stamann. Stamann is a teammate of Ngannou’s at the Las Vegas-based Xtreme Couture gym and has been seeing his recovery from knee surgery firsthand.
Speaking to Combat Sports UK of his fight at UFC 283, Cody Stamann told Danny Podolsky:
“I would guess… before June, I bet he would fight. He probably needs two months to adjust and get used to training and another two months to get ready for a fight. I think for sure he will fight once or twice this year.”
Francis is healthy and back training, but that doesn’t mean he is ready to return to the cage immediately:
“He’s in the gym training and was sparring last week. I was watching him manhandle Chris Curtis… I know his knee is in pretty good shape… you don’t want to as soon as you’re healthy sign a fight. It takes a little bit of time to get back in the groove and get comfortable with everything. It takes a long time to prepare for a fight. That’s something people don’t understand.”
Possible Opponent for Francis?
If Francis Ngannou and the UFC are able to resolve their well-publicised contractual dispute, Francis is widely tipped to fight Jon Jones in his comeback fight. When asked how he thinks the fight would play out, Stamann compared Ngannou to Mike Tyson:
“It’s like a Mike Tyson fight. [He] might be fighting someone that technically might be more skilled…but all it takes is one shot. Francis has got to hit you with a f*cking jab, and your lights are turned off! The longer that fight goes, the more opportunities Francis has to hurt Jon Jones.”
Ngannou vs. Jones is a fight that all fans want to see, including Hall of Famers and former champions Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping. Cody Stamann, however, believes that Jones should have earned the right to fight for the belt, given that he has been away from the sport for such a long time. He suggested that Jones makes his heavyweight debut against former interim champion Cyril Gane.
“For me, Jon Jones doesn’t really exist anymore. It’s been so long since he fought. He was the greatest, and then he sh*t on his own shoe and f*cked himself, and now he’s kind of irrelevant… I think Jon Jones should have to fight someone else at heavyweight. Fight Cyril Gane or somebody for an interim fight…and the winner fights Francis.”
Cyril Gane is evidently a fan of this plan too:
On Francis as a Champion
Stamann also took the time to praise Ngannou’s character and his conduct as a champion:
“Francis is such a low-key cool f*cking dude. He’s so relaxed like you would not guess he is the killer he is. I do strength and conditioning with him at the PI, and we are always f*cking with each other.
He’s a scary f*cking human, he’s a big scary dude, but he’s super relaxed and… he carries himself like a champion should… he says hi to everyone, he’s a nice guy, he doesn’t put anyone off. He’s a good dude. It’s cool to be around him… I think people don’t talk about Francis enough, you know what I mean? Francis could be this polarising asshole, but he’s not. He’s pretty low-key… very approachable… he’s what a champion should be, especially in a time when everyone is trying be the f*cking heel of the generation because they know that’s what gets them paid. Francis is doing it the right way, and I have a lot of respect for him.”
Be sure to check out our full interview with Cody Stamann on YouTube:
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
