Robelis Despaigne wants Francis Ngannou: 'Let's see who can knock out whom'
Robelis Despaigne wants Francis Ngannou: 'Let's see who can knock out whom'
Danny Segura, MMA JunkieFri, May 22, 2026 at 1:01 PM UTC
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Robelis Despaigne wants Francis Ngannou: 'Let's see who can knock out whom'
Robelis Despaigne is doing something few men have dared to do: call out former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Despaigne, a taekwondo bronze medalist in the 2012 Olympics, wants to duke it out with Ngannou following their first-round knockout wins at MVP's inaugural MMA event that streamed live on Netflix this past Saturday. Despaigne (6-2) stopped ex-UFC champ Junior Dos Santos, and Ngannou (19-3) stopped veteran Philipe Lins.
At the MVP MMA 1 post-fight news conference, Ngannou was asked about Despaigne's callout, to which he replied, 'Why not?' Although not a decisive yes, Despaigne likes his chances at getting that matchup next.
"Like everyone knows, Francis is a very humble athlete, and I thought those were good comments," Despaigne said in Spanish with Hablemos MMA. "He didn't refuse the fight or anything like that. We know what his main aspiration is, which everyone is also waiting for, which is that fight against him and Jon Jones. I hope the UFC doesn't let go of Jon Jones that soon so this fight could happen."
Ngannou and Jones have been angling to fight each other for many years. However, it looks next to impossible it happens at all given Jones still has 6 fights left on his UFC contract. UFC typically does not release top stars from their deals and historically does not engage in co-promotion.
Ngannou's bout lasted longer than Despaigne's despite Ngannou being a much bigger favorite in their respective bouts. Despaigne was surprised it went that long but not surprised with the end result.
"For a moment there, I thought the fight was going to reach the second round, but we all know the power that Francis carries, and I knew he only needed a single punch, regardless of which hand it was, to finish him, and that's what happened in the end," Despaigne said. "It took longer than what people thought, but the result was expected."
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Despaigne, who's been striking his entire life and has a very prestigious taekwondo background, rates Ngannou's striking quite high. He's seen it improve over the years, and Saturday's showing confirmed that to him.
"It's very good," Despaigne said. "If you see him now, he's using kicks and trying to kick low and high, and he's doing it well. He also kicks very hard. I saw he did a low kick, and he buckled (Lins). Against Renan (Ferreira), he did the same. We already know his level of boxing. He's fought Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and his boxing looked good. He also has crazy power above all else. He's been gaining experience and becoming a more complete fighter."
Ngannou hasn't lost since walking away as champion from the UFC. He's still considered by many the best heavyweight in the world. Despite all his accolades in the sport, there's a reason Despaigne wants to fight him. The Cuban fighter thinks he offers something no opponent has brought to the table when facing Ngannou.
"He's fought against fighters who are very stationary; I move a lot, and I know that will be my key to get the win," Despaigne explained. "I also have, maybe not as much as him, but I also have knockout power. The knockout power you need to have at the top level in this weight. I think that's one of the avenues to have success against Francis."
Both Despaigne and Ngannou have some of the shortest average fight times in the game given their numerous, first-round KO wins. If these two square off, one thing seems certain: Judges won't be needed.
"I think there's no chance," Despaigne said when asked if the potential bout could reach the scorecards. "It would be very difficult for this fight to reach the second round. I think from the start, it's going to be. Let's see who can knock out whom. I think it would be very difficult for this fight to go five rounds."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Robelis Despaigne wants Francis Ngannou: 'Let's see who can KO whom'
Source: “AOL Sports”
