As 2020 continues to wind down, there’s no word on Francis Ngannou’s next fight, and the heavyweight contender sounds pretty fed up with the situation.

Ngnanou says he’s “wasting time”

As this post is being written, Ngannou has yet to be booked for his next fight. The consensus is that Ngannou should be next for the UFC’s heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic.

After all, the 34 year-old Ngannou has won four straight fights by taking out Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Curtis Blaydes and most recently, Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The only fighter to make it past the one minute mark in those bouts was dos Santos, who lasted 71 seconds against the feared slugger.

Ngannou’s title shot was put on hold due to the rubber match last August between Miocic and Daniel Cormier, which the latter lost. While the belief is that Ngannou will be tapped for a rematch with Miocic (who defeated him by decision in 2018), there are some who think Jon Jones could get in the way.

Jones vacated the light heavyweight crown a few months ago to make a run at heavyweight.

So, as it stands right now, no one knows what’s next for Ngannou, and he seems fed up. While talking to Morning Kombat recently, Ngannou said this (quotes via MMA Junkie).

“I’m in a position which is very complicated,” Ngannou said. “… I’m in my prime age and I’m wasting time without fighting, so it’s kind of frustrating.

“We have to get something to motivate us. We have to make money. We have to do something for fighting. Sometimes when you wake up, it’s really hard to go to the gym and train because you need that motivation. Like, ‘OK, I’m training, but for what? When will I fight?’ I don’t know. So you have no clue about anything and it’s tough to find motivation.”

“…If things were moving on, this wouldn’t be an issue,” Ngannou said. “Many divisions have three or four title defenses a year. We’re talking about a division where there’s been one title defense a year, so it gives a lot of complicated positions for contenders. And then they get lined up and lined up, but no one really moves.”

Understandable?

It’s not surprising to hear Ngannou’s take here. The UFC’s decision to move forward with Miocic – Cormier III made sense, but, it did result in Ngannou having to fight Rozenstruik and seeing his title shot pushed down the line.

Based on what Dana White’s said about Jones’ move to heavyweight, it sounds like the UFC is still planning to have Ngannou fight for the belt next. But, Miocic hasn’t sounded overly keen on facing Ngannou again.

After all, he already beat the feared slugger, so he doesn’t have much to gain. Whereas, handing Jones his first, legitimate loss, would be a nice addition to Miocic’s resume.

Mentioned in this article:

More About: