Both Francis Ngannou and Junior Dos Santos have become synonymous with the word “knockout.” So it came as no surprise when one of the heavyweight behemoths ended Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 3 main event in violent fashion.
When the dust settled, Ngannou (15-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) stood victorious over a curled up Dos Santos (21-6 MMA, 15-5 UFC).
The heavyweight bout was the main event of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 3 show at Target Center in Minneapolis. It aired on ESPN.
The two men were originally scheduled to square off at UFC 215 in Edmonton in 2017, but the bout was canceled after Dos Santos was flagged by USADA. Almost two years later, the two heavyweights finally met in the cage.
With every strike thrown, whether they landed or missed, the crowd was audibly in awe of the freakish power possessed by both men.
While Dos Santos landed thudding leg kicks in the early frames, he was never able to get going. Ngannou put a screeching halt to Dos Santos’s success in a hurry.
Throwing a looping overhand right, Dos Santos missed, opening himself open for the full wrath of the Frenchman. A series of right hands barreled Dos Santos over, before follow up shots by Ngannou ended the fight.
The victory over the former UFC champion marks Ngannou’s third straight win. The 32-year-old big man has won all but two of his UFC appearances, which were decision losses to then-champion Stipe Miocic and future-challenger Derrick Lewis.
In his post-fight octagon interview, Ngannou expressed his desire to fight for the title in his next outing.
“I think the only thing left now is the winner of Stipe and DC,” Ngannou said. “I want the title shot bad.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 3 results include:
- Francis Ngannou def. Junior Dos Santos by TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:11
- Joseph Benavidez def. Jussier Formiga via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:47
- Demian Maia def. Anthony Rocco Martin by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
- Vinc Pichel def. Roosevelt Roberts by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Drew Dober def. Marco Polo Reyes via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:07
- Alonzo Menifield def. Paul Craig via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:19
- Ricardo Ramos def. Journey Newson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Eryk Anders def. Vinicius Moreira via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:18
- Jared Gordon def. Dan Moret via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Dalcha Lungiambula def. Dequan Townsend via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:42
- Amanda Ribas def. Emily Whitmire via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:10
- Maurice Greene def. Junior Albini via TKO (punches), Round 1 3:38
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN 3, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
