Francis Ngannou knocks out Jairzinho Rozenstruik in 19 SECONDS as UFC’s most feared powerhouse moves one step closer to a shot at the heavyweight title
- Francis Ngannou moved a step closer to a UFC title shot with a blitzing KO
- ‘The Predator’ knocked out Jairzinho Rozenstruik in just 19 seconds at UFC 249
- The first-round KO makes it four wins on the spin for the Cameroonian giant
- Ngannou, 33, expressed his frustration at the slow-moving heavyweight division
Francis Ngannou showed why he is the most feared powerhouse in the UFC with a 19-second knockout win to send shockwaves through the heavyweight division.
The Cameroon-born Frenchman stopped Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the opening stages of their three-round bout at UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Florida, putting himself well and truly in the mix for another title shot now.
Ngannou stormed forwards straight from the opening bell, connected with a left hand and that was enough to fell the 32-year-old Surinamese.
Francis Ngannou sent shockwaves through the heavyweight division with a big KO win
The Cameroonian blitzed Jairzinho Rozenstruik in just 19 seconds at UFC 249 in Jacksonville
Rozenstriuk, who had demanded a chance to face the 6ft 4in knockout artist, won’t thank his opponent for the follow up shots that were landed before the referee could haul him away.
Saturday night’s win made it four victories on the spin for ‘The Predator’, who is striving towards another shot at UFC gold, seeking to avenge his loss to current champion Stipe Miocic when the pair met in July 2018.
‘When I heard he called me out, I knew that he didn’t know what he’s doing,’ Ngannou said of Rozenstriuk. ‘He has a lot of potential, but I think he has to take a step back and then get ready before fighting against someone like me.’
That win makes it four on the spin for Ngannou, who is looking for another shot at the title
‘The Predator’ later expressed his frustrations at the slow-moving heavyweight division
Ngannou expressed his frustration at not yet being granted a shot at the title, with the heavyweight division at a standstill owing to Miocic putting MMA to one side to focus on serving as a firefighter during the coronavirus outbreak.
‘After the JDS (Junior Dos Santos) fight we expected a fight for the title, it didn’t happen,’ he said in his post-fight interview.
‘Then we asked the UFC for the interim title fight to be on this fight and they didn’t make it. To be honest, I don’t know exactly where the division is at right now.’
Rozenstriuk took to social media to tell fans he had made a full recovery from the devastating knockout, before paying respect to ‘The Predator’.
‘I’m okay! Big up Francis Ngannou for taking the fight. Respect,’ he wrote.
Ngannou’s performance convinced former heavyweight champion of boxing, Mike Tyson, that the Cameroonian is set to be the champion of UFC’s heavyweight division.
The 53-year-old tweeted to his 5.4million twitter followers: ‘Resounding … vicious …. future champ. #FrancesNyngonu 20 second knockout 2nite #UFC249’.