FIFA World Cup 2022 was one of the best editions of the tournament. It featured many thrilling matches throughout, but none was more exciting than the final. Lionel Messi won the first World Cup of his career after Argentina beat France in the finals via penalty kicks. Although the entire world is heaping praise on Messi, UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou extends his wishes to France as well.
Although Francis Ngannou was born in Cameroon, Ngannoou later migrated to France. Hence, “The Predator” was rooting for his adopted home country. There were moments when it seemed like the French team was going to drown Lionel Messi’s dream of winning his maiden World Cup trophy. Kylian Mbappe was excellent on the night as he scored a hat trick in the final.
But, thanks to Emiliano Martinez, Argentina prevailed in the tiebreaker to take the trophy home. But, it does not take away from the fact that the French team put up a great fight. Hence, Ngannou posted a few pictures of himself with the PSG star Kylian Mbappe and congratulated the French team on reaching the second successive WC final in a row.
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“Congrats to France for the amazing run at the World Cup and a beautiful game today. They will be back,” wrote Ngannou on his Instagram account.
While Ngannou could not make it to Qatar, his former opponent Ciryl Gane was in the Lusail Stadium to witness one of the greatest soccer games of all time. Gane is also a French citizen and headlined the inaugural UFC card in Paris earlier in 2022. Bon Gamin, who is a big soccer fan, clearly had a fun time in the stadium and posted numerous pictures and videos from the experience.
He shared the clip where Mbappe scored his third goal in the second half of the extra time. Once the match went to penalties, he shared a picture and wrote, “From the wildest final, we move on to the craziest final of the World Cups… (I wouldn’t watch the penalty shootout, I care about my health.)”
Unfortunately, France lost the tie-breaker, 4-2. After that, Gane posted, “THANK YOU GENTLEMEN… a lot of emotion for this incredible final.” (translation via Google)
When will Francis Ngannou fight next in the UFC?
Francis Ngannou kicked off 2022 in style after beating Ciryl Gane in the first PPV of 2022, UFC 270. But, Ngannou has not fought ever since then, as his knees were badly damaged prior to the bout. After successfully retaining his belt against Gane, Ngannou had surgery on his knee which sidelined him for almost a year now. But, he resumed his training recently.
There were reports that he will defend the belt in March 2023 at UFC 285. Fans may ask who will Ngannou fight next. UFC is reportedly working on booking Ngannou against Jon Jones, who will make his UFC heavyweight debut with the bout.
But, as of now, there is no official confirmation if the bout is going forward as planned or not. But, Ngannou vs Jones is a dream fight for many and it would certainly make for a big PPV event.