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Francis Ngannou's next fight is set for May 16 against Philipe Lins, with Jake Paul supporting Lins. Speculation continues about a future matchup between Ngannou and Paul.
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Francis Ngannou might find himself fighting on the same night as his next MMA opponent.
Jake Paul has come out in support of Philipe Lins, Ngannou’s opponent, after some fans questioned why this matchup was picked for May 16.
There’s been talk of a potential fight between Paul and Ngannou down the line, but that’s not the only story heading into Netflix’s debut MMA event.
UFC veteran Sam Alvey believes that his former foe, Robelis Despaigne, is on this card in order to set up what would be an unmissable clash with ‘The Predator’.
Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
Phil De Fries and a few other heavyweights had their eye on Francis Ngannou before his fight with Lins was announced, but Robelis Despaigne was another name that came up for May 16.
The Cuban southpaw is lined up to face Junior dos Santos on the same card and he’s widely expected to finish the job in highlight-reel fashion.
Sam Alvey, who faced Despaigne in December, thinks Most Valuable Promotions is keeping them apart for now to build anticipation for a future meeting.
“Robelis is gonna smoke JDS [dos Santos], he is. I love JDS, he was great, but that was years ago. Now he’s good, Robelis is still great,” Alvey told Bloody Elbow. “They want Robelis vs Ngannou. That’s what they want. Ngannou’s gonna win, Robelis is gonna win, then they’re gonna fight each other. That’s what’s going to happen, you can bet on it right now. Blame me if you lose.”
Alvey went on to say that while he sees the May 16 Netflix event as being filled with mismatches where most results are easy to predict, he’s still enjoying what the promotion has put together.
Francis Ngannou's next opponent is Philipe Lins, and they will fight on May 16.
Jake Paul's support for Philipe Lins has raised questions among fans about the matchup and its implications for Ngannou's career.
Yes, there has been talk of a potential fight between Francis Ngannou and Jake Paul in the future.
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The 39-year-old knows something about these kinds of matchups himself as he’s getting ready to face bodybuilder Alexander “The Freak” in an exhibition bout that came out of a social media back-and-forth between them.
Alvey isn’t convinced that Most Valuable Promotions’ event can be compared to what the UFC has planned for the White House in June — though it won’t affect his enjoyment of either one.
“It’s two different cards… Ronda [Rousey] vs Gina [Carano] is the perfect main event for that. I’m more interested in that fight now than I would have been 15 years ago,” he said.”I think it’s more fun now. I think it’s kind of just a throwback to what MMA used to be. It’s just fun.”
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