UFC

FRANCIS NGANNOU has so much “ungodly power” even his boxing coach fears for his opponents – in a brutal warning to Anthony Joshua. Former kickboxer Dewey Cooper has been the man tasked with honing Ngannou’s hands since joining the camp in 2017.
Francis Ngannou in training to fight Anthony JoshuaCredit: @francisngannou
Joshua faces Ngannou on March 8
But along with Frenchman John Mbumba, their roles became even more important last year when Ngannou put on hold his MMA career to cross over to boxing.
But Cooper admits neither him or Mbumba can take credit for the ex-UFC champion’s devastating power.
Instead, he puts it down to Ngannou’s years spent working in sand mines in Cameroon for £1.50 a day from the age of ten.
Cooper told SunSport in Saudi Arabia ahead of PFL vs Bellator: “As far as his punching power, no that was something that he naturally had.
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“He dug sand mines as a kid all the way up to his early 20s.
“Of course, his DNA, his Cameroonian heritage and that hard manual labour as a kid all the way up, I feel was the main attribute to that ungodly power.”
Ngannou’s frightening power was once tested and found to be the equivalent to 96 horse power.
That means it carries the same ferocity as a 12lb sledgehammer being swung at full force or being hit by a moving Ford Escort.
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And if anyone knows the pain of Ngannou’s punches, it is poor old coach Cooper.
He laughed: “I had to change my body shield three or four different times because he was killing me.
‘AJ ain’t knocking that thing out’, say shocked fans as Francis Ngannou shows off insane physique ahead of Saudi scrap
“I was going home with injured ribs all the time but I finally got a really good body pad – and it still hurts even now.
“But I’m just barley tough enough to take it. Remember, coaching Francis Ngannou isn’t for the weak or the meek.
“The saying, ‘It felt like he got hit by a bus’, I feel that every training session, I’m used to it now.
“It’s gigantic power, it’s enormous power and that’s gonna be on display March 8th and that’s for damn sure.”
Ngannou, 37, astonishingly dropped Tyson Fury, 35, on his boxing debut but it was not enough to avoid a controversial split-decision loss.
The performance and shock knockdown was still enough to earn the MMA star another blockbuster boxing bout, this time against Joshua, 34.
It will be the second time Cooper has led the charge but his 11th bout in total with Ngannou.
And he opened up about fearing the worst whenever Ngannou’s ruthless right hand lands – but showing no remorse before it.
He said: “The Overeem fight was one that comes to memory and the Rozenstruik, absolutely. But, that’s after the knockout, after the relief of victory.
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“That’s of course when the humanitarian side kicks in and you feel bad for the guys. But going into the fight, absolutely not.
“We plan on dominating, I want to make sure people understand that, if it were my way I want him to dominate and smash everyone he fights, the same way he did previous opponents in mixed martial arts.”
Ngannou pictured with boxing coach Dewey CooperCredit: Reuters More

UFC LEGEND Nate Diaz has claimed he would “f*** up” Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua in a “real fight”.Diaz, 38, threw his hat into the crossover boxing game last year, when he lost to YouTuber Jake Paul in a fifth round defeat.
Nate Diaz has said he would ‘f*** up’ Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury in a ‘real fight’Credit: Getty
Fury has previously shown an interest in a crossover matchCredit: PA
The UFC star is frustrated by boxing as a sport, and feels that MMA leads to a more realistic representation of how two people would deal with a real fight.
He feels he would take both stars in a street fight, despite weighing a whopping thirty kilograms less than them.
He’s also considerably smaller than both men, measuring six feet in height, with Joshua 6’6″ and Tyson Fury a whopping 6’9″.
While many MMA stars have made the crossover into boxing, only a handful of boxers have gone the other way.
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Francis Ngannou recently boxed Tyson Fury and gave a good account of himself, downing the WBC heavyweight champion in the third round.
Diaz told Sneako via The Mirror: “I’ll f*** up Tyson Fury. I’ll f*** up Anthony Joshua. All these motherf****rs in a real fight, they don’t stand a chance.
“It’s like, we’ve got, everybody’s going on boxing [Floyd] Mayweather. We’re playing a little game… I don’t like being like, labelled as an ‘MMA fighter’.
“I’m a boxer. I’m a Jiu-Jitsu guy. I’m a kickboxer. I don’t like any of the one-dimensional things by itself anyway. I like it all.”
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Joshua has not shown interest in an MMA fight, but will fight MMA legend Ngannou next monthCredit: Alamy
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Fury refused to rule out an MMA match with Ngannou during the buildup to their boxing match last October, with many assuming that Ngannou would make light work of the boxer in that form of bout.
Joshua, meanwhile, has shown little interest in fighting in an MMA bout when asked about the prospect.
Anthony Joshua set for mega showdown with Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia

ANTHONY JOSHUA VS FRANCIS NGANNOU: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF HUGE CROSSOVER BOUT
He takes on Ngannou in March, with the winner assumed to be fighting the winner of Fury Vs Oleksandr Usyk.
Diaz is a free-agent after being let go by the UFC in September 2022, he admitted that he wanted to be a part of UFC 300 but was not called up for the event.
On rumours linking him with a boxing match against former UFC rival Jorge Masvidal, Diaz said: “I think I wanna do boxing, fight another fighter. I could fight anybody in the world right now, but no one can fight me.
“Everybody’s locked down to organisations, locked down to the UFC, PFL.” More

JACOB “STITCH” DURAN has lost count of the amount of fights he has worked over his career – but there is one he could never forget. Duran has cornered a who’s who in both boxing and MMA, spanning over four decades, so little can faze or shock the 72-year-old legend.
Jay Hieron vs Jonathan Goule was the ‘bloodiest’ fight in MMA history
Hieron was left covered from head to toe in blood
Stitch Duran worked the cut for Hieron
It was the bloodiest fight Stitch ever worked
Stitch aiding Hieron’s gruesome gash
But, in 2005, he worked in what at the time was described by UFC commentator Joe Rogan as the “bloodiest round in mixed martial arts history.”
Jay Hieron was taking on Jonathan Goule in a welterweight bout when, in round two, he took a brutal knee to the forehead.
Immediately, Hieron was drenched in blood and Duran knew he had a job on his hands.
Duran recalls almost PASSING OUT from the sheer smell alone as Hieron was covered from head to toe in claret.
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He told SunSport: “Jay Hieron got that one cut in the vein where you laugh and it popped out and he bled like a pig, to the point where both fighters had blood from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet. 
“As I was cleaning Jay up, there was so much blood I literally got nauseated. The smell of that iron, that had to be the bloodiest fight. 
“And Jay Hieron is so proud of it, the mat is up in Randy Couture’s gym in Las Vegas. So we’re intertwined in his history.”
Despite Duran’s best efforts, the bleeding was so severe the fight was called off a minute into round three with Goule winning by stoppage.
Most read in BoxingThe one that got away DESPITE working with the best of the best, the most notable name Stitch never cornered was Floyd Mayweather.

Instead, Mayweather famously had the late Rafael Garcia – who died in 2017 – work his cuts and more importantly his hands.
But Stitch did have the chance to join Mayweather’s team, telling us: “I walk into the gym with a friend of mine, barber shop type of thing and he’s going through guys wrapping his hands, as he does have problems. 
“Well this one guy is wrapping his hands and I’m telling my friend right off the bat, ‘Too tight.’ Floyd is shaking his hands and the other guy is wrapping his other hand. 
“Finally, they finish and Floyd and James Prince – his manager at the time – they walk into the dressing room and as he’s walking out Floyd is cutting the wraps off his hands. 
“At that point I could have said, ‘Hey Floyd, I’ll wrap your hands.’ But out of respect for that cutman, I said nothing. 
“Then of course, later on Rafael got the opportunity and the assignment and I’m glad he got the assignment because Rafael was a super, super, super guy. 
“He never really got the credit that was due to him until Floyd gave him the opportunity. So everything worked out.” 

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It marked the only ever time Duran – who estimates he has worked over 1,000 fights – was taken aback by an incident.
He said: “That was the only time I ever really smelt the blood. There was that much blood to the point, I could smell the iron in it. 
Legendary cutman Stitch Duran ready to join Tyson Fury’s camp to protect horror cut in rescheduled Tyson Fury fight
“But it’s not usually an issue when it comes to smelling blood. At this point I ain’t got no time to be freaking out.” 
Duran had a military background before moving into the sport of kickboxing, where he coached and promoted.
From there, he made the life-changing decision to work fighters’ cuts and wrap their hands.
No cornerman has had a bigger impact across the sports, with Duran working with the likes of Wladimir Klistchko and Tyson Fury.
He has even featured in Hollywood movies, most notably in the Rocky series and Creed spin-offs.
But away from the lights, camera and action, Duran has one of the crucial jobs in the ring.
He said: “It’s definitely a pressure point. People ask me, ‘What does it take to be a good cutman?’ And I always say, ‘Composure.’
“During those points you’ve got to keep your composure and give that fighter every positive airwave. 
“He looks at you, and you look at him and you’ve just got to know what you’re doing a coach can be in the back but we’re in the front and centre.” 
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Stitch Duran is the most iconic cutman in boxing historyCredit: Getty More