UFC heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou ready for prime time

DENVER — There has come a time in the evolution of mixed martial arts that a generation of young heavyweight fighters who grew up wanting to be just like Andrei Arlovski are starting to reach the highest levels of the sport.

Francis Ngannou had never heard of him.

Born in Cameroon and raised in France, where professional MMA is still banned, Ngannou wanted to be Mike Tyson.

Ngannou was working toward a professional boxing career when he discovered MMA. He soon realized his path to stardom would run through a cage.

He absorbed everything he could, watching footage of the world’s top fighters on YouTube.

Ngannou studied Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos. He even came across videos of Arlovski when he was the UFC champion in 2005 and 2006.

Now he will get to see in person when they meet in the main card of UFC on Fox 23 at Pepsi Center on Saturday. The bout is part of a main card that will air at 5 p.m. on Fox, headlined by a women’s bantamweight top contender bout between Julianna Pena and Valentina Shevchenko.

Though Ngannou got a late start on the sport and already is 30, he has been saddled with the label of future superstar since he burst onto the scene with a knockout of Luis Henrique in December 2015. Ngannou has done nothing to dampen expectations with two knockout wins and a submission victory in 2016 that showcased his brute strength and stunning athleticism for a 6-foot-4-inch, 260-pounder.

Arlovski, 37, has lost three straight fights, but they have been against top competition. He still represents a good measuring stick for Ngannou in the upper echelon of the division.

Ngannou insists his time has come.

“For me, this is something great, because since I was young, I’ve always dreamed of something like this,” he said Thursday at open workouts. “I didn’t have many opportunities in my life. It was difficult. But I always kept my dream of making it somehow. I never gave up. I’m so happy to have this. I promise myself to give it more than my best on Saturday.”

Arlovski has been around long enough to have seen numerous “next big things” come and go.

He acknowledged Ngannou has all the physical tools to be champion, but thinks there might be a potential roadblock.

“I think he might be a bit cocky,” Arlovski said. “I could be wrong, but that’s just my personal opinion of what I’ve seen.”

Arlovski said he has worked with his coaches and teammate Jon Jones to exploit holes in Ngannou’s game.

One of those coaches, Brandon Gibson, thinks Arlovski’s experience could force Ngannou to find another gear to extend his winning streak.

“Francis is so powerful, strong and athletic,” Gibson said. “I just think he’s a raw prospect. He’s definitely going to have to show some new tools when he gets into a battle, maybe a fight like this at elevation against a veteran like Andrei. It will be interesting to see how he comes out. But looking at all of his tapes, he’s just such a physical specimen.”

Ngannou isn’t bothered by the high expectations to make a title run after posting four impressive victories to start his UFC career. He’s just glad everyone has caught up with what he’s known since he started training.

“It makes me happy,” he said. “I believed (I’d be champion) way before (anyone else), but now that I see other people believing it, it makes me even stronger.”

A win over a former champion will go a long way toward proving it.

“I don’t know if I’ll be the next superstar,” he said. “But I know that I will be the UFC heavyweight champion.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.