UFC Minneapolis: Junior dos Santos on How Francis Ngannou’s Power May Not be a “Good Thing”

There’s no question that Francis Ngannou has jaw-dropping, ‘look away’ power, and Junior dos Santos is acknowledging that fact. But, “Cigano” believes that Ngannou’s heavy, heavy hands can also work against the heavyweight contender too.

Dos Santos will face Ngannou on Saturday night in the headliner of UFC Minneapolis. Heading into the fight, Ngannou is coming off back-to-back, stoppage wins over Curtis Blaydes and Cain Velasquez. Ngannou needed less than two minutes total, yes total, to win those fights, and the victories returned “The Predator” to the title shot mix, following his consecutive losses to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis.

Due to the devastation Ngannou’s hands have delivered in the Octagon, dos Santos was of course, asked about the heavyweight’s power. Here’s what the former champ recently had to say (quote via MMA Junkie):

“I never fought him, so I don’t really know how powerful he is. But everyone is talking about him,” Dos Santos said. “As I can see his last fights, he has a lot of power. But the thing is sometimes too much power without the right amount of control is not really good thing, you know? So I believe he has a lot of power, but skill-wise he is not that level.”

It’s an interesting take. Has Ngannou out himself in bad positions due to a lack of control? In some instances, sure. One could also argue he hunted for that big shot for too long against Lewis. After all, Ngannou offered next to no volume in the extremely, extremely disappointing bout. Dos Santos could also be inferring that Ngannou’s offensive arsenal is limited, in comparison to his.

But, Ngannou boosters would likely point out his awesome power took out Velasquez in less than 30 seconds, who is one of the most complete and well rounded heavyweights in the game.

Here is the line-up for UFC Minneapolis (UFC on ESPN 3):

UFC on ESPN 3 Main Card (8 p.m. ET)

265 lbs.: Francis Ngannou vs. Junior dos Santos
125 lbs.: Joseph Benavidez vs. Jussier Formiga
170 lbs.: Demian Maia vs. Anthony Rocco Martin
155 lbs.: Roosevelt Robert vs. Vic Pinchel
155 lbs.: Drew Dober vs. Marco Polo Reyes
205 lbs.: Paul Craig vs. Alonzo Menifield

UFC on ESPN 3 Prelims (5 p.m. ET)

135 lbs.: Journey Newson vs. Ricardo Ramos
205 lbs.: Eryk Anders vs. Vinicius Castro
145 lbs.: Vince Murdock vs. Jordan Griffin
155 lbs.: Jared Gordon vs. Dan Moret
205 lbs.: Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Justin Ledet
115 lbs.: Emily Whitmire vs. Amanda Ribas
265 lbs.: Maurice Greene vs. Junior Albini

Line-up via MMA Mania