A heavyweight bout between Francis Ngannou and Robelis Despaigne could headline MVP MMA 2, according to the event’s promoter.
Both Ngannou and Despaigne picked up incredible first-round knockout wins at MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano, which took place this past Saturday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, and which aired live on Netflix.
In the opening main card bout, Despaigne picked up a highlight-reel KO win over former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos. Then, in the featured bout of the evening, Ngannou clubbed former UFC fighter Philipe Lins and took him out in the first round with strikes for a KO win. That earned Ngannou a $100,000 bonus for Performance of the Night, but he decided to give his bonus money to Lins instead, in a gesture of goodwill.
Now, with both Ngannou and Despaigne coming off amazing knockout wins, they might get matched up against each other for their next bout.
Francis Ngannou vs. Robelis Despaigne Could Headline MVP MMA 2
Speaking to ESPN following the first-ever MVP MMA card, the event’s promoter, Nakisa Bidarian, confirmed that their second card could be headlined by Ngannou vs. Despaigne in a heavyweight bout, a matchup he said was “realistic.” Additionally, Bidarian said at the post-fight press conference that Sacramento, California, is being looked at for the potential site, with a rematch between Mike Perry and Nate Diaz also potentially in the works for the event after their fight ended due to a cut stoppage.
As well, Bidarian said that, while they hope to be back with Netflix, they could also broadcast the second MVP MMA card on Amazon or Fox.
“My hope is that we do it with Netflix, but there’s also Amazon, Fox and many other players who hopefully saw what we did tonight and are excited about the opportunity to work with us,” Bidarian said.
Francis Ngannou vs. Robelis Despaigne Makes More Sense Than Jon Jones
A heavyweight fight between Ngannou and Despaigne makes a lot more sense than a fight featuring Jon Jones, who was a guest analyst during the Netflix broadcast, and who confirmed he was interested in fighting Ngannou for MVP MMA. The problem is, Jones is still under UFC contract for another six fights, and it’s extremely unlikely that UFC president Dana White would be inclined to let him out of his contract early to fight Ngannou in MVP MMA.
With that in mind, a fight between Ngannou and Despaigne makes a lot more sense and is doable, as both men just fought for MVP MMA. They are two former UFC fighters who left the promotion several years ago, so the UFC can’t block this fight. Both men are knockout artists, and so this would be a very fun and exciting fight for the fans. Based on how well each performed on Saturday, this would be a highly anticipated bout between two of the top heavyweights in the world who are not currently under UFC contract. We’ll see what ends up happening, but an MVP MMA 2 card featuring Ngannou vs. Despaigne and Perry vs. Diaz 2 seems like a very possible outcome.
Francis Ngannou, Robelis Despaigne Could Headline MVP MMA 2