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Francis Ngannou's former head coach Fernand Lopez believes 'The Predator' wouldn't even be able to get an amateur boxing license if he wasn't in the UFC.
Ngannou is in a contract dispute with UFC and is determined to add a clause to his next deal. If he gets it through, his new agreement would allow him to feature in boxing bouts.
The Cameroonian has even exchanged tweets with WBC and The Ring heavyweight titleholder Tyson Fury. Both combat sports superstars have shown interest in facing each other.
During a recent chat with MMA Fighting, Lopez claimed that despite having the ability to finish opponents with a single punch, Francis Ngannou would struggle as a pro boxer.
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"Dont get me wrong, I am not saying that you [Ngannou] can't kill Ciryl [with one punch]. You can still do that... The reality is, you can box properly [inside the octagon]. But if they take out the UFC, who make you champ and then give you the opportunity to go to the boxing from you, your boxing is irrelevant. You won't have the license to box even in the amateur [level]. But you can still kill someone with one punch. That's something no one can take from you. I mean I'm just trying to be objective here and say things."
Watch Fernand Lopez in conversation with MMA Fighting's Damon Martin below:
Francis Ngannou will square off against his former training partner Ciryl Gane next. The pair will clash in a unification main event at UFC 270 on January 22.
Francis Ngannou is ranked No.4 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings, while Ciryl Gane is No.15
Francis Ngannou's phenomenal five-fight winning streak helped him claim the UFC heavyweight championship from Stipe Miocic. It also took him to the No.4 spot in the men's pound-for-pound rankings.
After suffering back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Miocic and Derrick Lewis back in 2018, Ngannou racked up four consecutive first-round wins. Those successes had a cumulative fight time of just two minutes and 42 seconds.
Meanwhile, Ciryl Gane is unbeaten in his 10-fight MMA career so far. He won the interim belt by beating Lewis via TKO at UFC 265 last August.
