Alistair Overeem in awe of Francis Ngannou, picks him to beat Joshua

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Alistair Overeem is glad to see how far Francis Ngannou has come.

Overeem fought Ngannou in a title eliminator bout in December 2017, however wound up on the receiving finish of a highlight-reel knockout at UFC 218.

Regardless of their historical past, Overeem had nothing however good issues to say about former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou, who now has taken the boxing world by storm.

“I’m very happy with him, very in awe of his life’s journey,” Overeem informed MMA Junkie. “From being homeless, an immigrant from Africa, all the best way to Paris, into the UFC, moved to the States, and now he’s sitting on the most important stage. My hat goes off to him. He’s a champ. He’s a stud.”

Ngannou (0-1) faces Anthony Joshua (27-3) in a 10-round boxing match Friday at Kingdom Enviornment (pay-per-view). After he was capable of push WBC champion Tyson Fury to the brink this past October, Overeem thinks Ngannou gained the required expertise to assist him get his hand raised towards Joshua.

“I believe he’s going to win this time,” Overeem mentioned. “Whenever you take a look at the elements, his first boxing struggle, in fact you’re going to have nerves. You don’t know the way you’re going to final in 10 rounds. So there could possibly be some nerves there, however I believe he doesn’t have that anymore. He did it, he was in there with one of the best, he misplaced a call the place there was a variety of argument that he may need even gained that struggle.

“He did rating the knockdown, which I believed was stunning. So on this struggle, I can see Francis Ngannou is extra assured. After I take a look at Anthony Joshua, he had a variety of fights, so his struggle rhythm is excessive, however I’m not seeing the identical confidence. … Additionally, the burden distinction (could possibly be an element). So I’m leaning a bit of bit towards Francis.”

For extra on the matchup, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for Joshua vs. Ngannou.