A.J. McKee compares teammate Zion Clark to Francis Ngannou as he hails his "unreal" strength

It's not often that Francis Ngannou or his monstrous physicality is compared to other fighters, let alone a fighter with just a single professional bout under his belt.

Zion Clark, a remarkable mixed martial artist who was born without his legs due to a rare condition, was likened to Ngannou by his teammate A.J. McKee. Clark trains under McKee's father, Antonio, who is also a former UFC fighter.

'Mercenary' spoke about Clark's immense upper body strength in an interview with SHAK MMA:

"And then fighting a guy who is 125 pounds, like, this man has the body - the upper torso of Francis Ngannou. Like, he's easily a 220-pounder, you know what I mean, like this man is huge. And anybody that's 125 pounds, when he grabs them, they're gonna be like 'Holy!' like this, like it's unreal, you know. Maybe a 155-pounder like, I go neck and neck with him with the grip. But I also have my father McKee's strength and his grip is just absurd as well."

McKee also laid out a prediction for Clark's next fight after his debut at Gladiator Challenge saw him win against Eugene Murray via unanimous decision:

"It's kind of unreal you know, when he goes with the other guys in the gym, his wrist control, it's just phenomenal. I think he's going to go out here and really shock the world. I can see him choking this dude out, honestly. I don't know how is this guy gonna hit him."

Check out McKee's full interview on YouTube:

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Coach expects "big things" from Francis Ngannou on his return to the octagon

One thing to look forward to in 2023 is the much-anticipated return of Francis Ngannou to the UFC octagon. 'The Predator's' last fight was against Ciryl Gane in January 2022.

Much speculation has surrounded a potential matchup against Jon Jones, but there have been no confirmed opponents for the heavyweight champion. As he continues his recovery, one of his coaches, Dewey Cooper, described the expectations of the camp:

“This version of Francis will be better than the last version of Francis before he injured the knee. It’s going to be something that’s galactic. We’re expecting Francis to be better, stronger, more athletic, more everything. He expects the same thing, so it’s definitely going to happen. Whenever something is smart and official, we’ll make sure that we do the right things to have him at his very best. 2023, we’ve got some big, big things ahead.”

Check out Dewey Cooper's comments on Francis Ngannou below: