Francis Ngannou’s 10 greatest knockouts, ranked

With MMA’s lineal heavyweight champion taking on boxing’s lineal heavyweight champion this Saturday, it’s the perfect time to take a look back at the rise of Francis Ngannou before he steps in the ring with Tyson Fury.

Ngannou, whose incredible story of perseverance, spans across three continents, originally set out to be a boxer oddly enough.

However, after circumstances brought him to the MMA Factory in France, Ngannou ended up starting his professional combat sports career in mixed martial arts. Ngannou’s rise hasn’t been without his fair share of stumbles, but MMA’s “Baddest Man on the Planet” has continued to prove his doubters wrong, all while providing us with some spectacular highlight-reel moments along the way.

With that in mind, below is a look back at his 10 greatest (and most vicious) knockouts that put Ngannou on the map.

Francis Ngannou knocks out Bilal Tahtahi at 100% Fight 20 (April 5, 2014)

Despite this selection coming from Ngannou’s early days on the regional circuit, it more than deserves to be on this list.

Aside from the fact that Ngannou nearly sends Bilal Tahtahi flying through the ropes, the Cameroonian goliath demonstrates a solid double-jab setup before delivering the death blow.

The world may not have known Ngannou’s name at this time, but this was certainly a sign of things to come.

Francis Ngannou stops Curtis Blaydes via doctor's stoppage at UFC Fight Night 86 (April 10, 2016)

Francis Ngannou knocks out Cain Velasquez at UFC on ESPN 1 (Feb. 17, 2019)

After completing his series with Blaydes, Ngannou was set to challenge the old guard of heavyweight wrestling greats in Cain Velasquez.

Unfortunately for the UFC and Velasquez alike, this promotional debut on ESPN – akin to the UFC’s debut on FOX (which also involved Velasquez) – ended early with an injury in tow.

That said, Velasquez, who was all class in the post-fight interview, credited Ngannou’s power and the initial short shot that put him down.

Francis Ngannou knocks out Curtis Blaydes at UFC Fight Night 141 (Nov. 24, 2018)

In what was Ngannou’s first career rematch, he made good by stopping Blaydes in just 45 seconds.

Blaydes may have been just as mad about the stoppage this time around, but it’s hard to blame a referee for being triggered to stop a fight when a man as dangerous as Ngannou is sending you face first to the mat.

Marc Goddard gave Blaydes some solid chances to stay in the fight, but the onslaught was ultimately too much.

Francis Ngannou knocks out Junior Dos Santos at UFC on ESPN 3 (June 29, 2019)

Francis Ngannou knocks out Andrei Arlovski at UFC on FOX 23 (Jan. 28, 2017)

Despite being a pro fighter for just over three years at this point, Ngannou already found himself being booked against former UFC heavyweight champions.

And for Ngannou’s first big test, he drew the division’s old guard of explosive athlete in Andrei Arlovski.

Although Arlovski was well past his prime and riding a three-fight skid heading into this contest, the fan favorite was more than suitable enough to provide an appropriate test for Nagnnou – at least on paper.

Sadly for Arlovski and his fans alike, that test did not last long.

The reason why I rate this knockout slightly higher than his Dos Santos stoppage is that Ngannou – despite having to punch against the momentum on his body – still delivers enough power to lift Arlovski off the mat before he immediately comes crashing down.

Francis Ngannou knocks out Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 249 (May 9, 2020)

Francis Ngannou knocks out Luis Henrique at UFC on FOX 17 (Dec. 19, 2015)

Notching the No. 3 spot is a 2015 knockout that I can remember like it was yesterday.

Not only was I eating at my favorite brunch spot in Waikiki with a balcony view, but this was also the first event where I realized that the (at that time) newly launched UFC Fight Pass app allowed you to watch live fights from your phone.

Realizing this late in an inebriated state, I quickly popped my app open to immediately witness Ngannou – who has a debuting fighter that I was unfamiliar with – nearly decapitating poor Luis Henrique on live television.

This shovel hook variation and hammer fist follow-up, which ended up becoming a staple of Ngannou’s game, was so terrifying that he had a shaken Joe Rogan interviewing him like a kid offering “Mean” Joe Greene a Coke.

Francis Ngannou knocks out Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 (March 27, 2021)

Francis Ngannou knocks out Alistair Overeem at UFC 218 (Dec. 2, 2017)

Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie