Francis Ngannou hints at upcoming return to action

On January 20, in the main event of UFC 220, hulking French-Cameroonian knockout artist Francis Ngannou stepped into the Octagon to challenge Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title. Though Ngannou entered this contest with mountains of hype attached to his name, he was blown out of the water by the champion, losing a lopsided unanimous decision after five, lopsided rounds.

In the wake of this loss, Ngannou promised to learn from the experience and come back stronger – after a brief hiatus, during which time he planned to reconnect with family.

Unfortunately it didn’t go on my way last night but I learned some different aspects of this sport and I’ll come back stronger! TRUST ME ☝ . #UFC220

— Francis NGannou (@francis_ngannou) January 21, 2018

In my dark way, I’m taking some time off which will benefit my personal life by going back home to enjoy family and friends . Then I’ll be back to set businesses up #relaxation #familytime

— Francis NGannou (@francis_ngannou) January 25, 2018

Now, it sounds like Ngannou is ready to get back to the drawing board.

On Tuesday, the former title challenger posted to social media, saying that he is “back in the business.” See Ngannou’s new post below.

I’m back in the business! ☝ pic.twitter.com/1A6Cw7DybC

— Francis NGannou (@francis_ngannou) March 13, 2018

This post from Ngannou is in keeping with some recent comments from his coach Dewey Cooper, who assured the fighter will learn from his UFC 220 loss to Miocic.

“There will be experience and knowledge from that [loss] and Francis will definitely be a UFC heavyweight champion that’s for sure,” Cooper said on the Slip n’ Dip Podcast. “The team he has now, with or without them, he’s something special. He has everything. He has all that inside of him. He’s going to be that guy, believe that. The experience he learned was very valuable and it sure won’t happen again just from having that experience. We all know what happened and he will be better for it for sure. We will all be better for it.”

How do you think Francis Ngannou will rebound from his loss to Stipe Miocic? Who would you like to see him fight next?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/14/2018.