Report: Francis Ngannou to take on the Skyscraper in Stockholm

Back in January, on the main card of UFC on Fox 23, French-Cameroonian heavyweight Francis Ngannou picked up a crushing first-round knockout win over former champion Andrei Arlovski. With this win, Ngannou burst into the upper half of the UFC heavyweight top-15, where other massive tests now await him.

According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, Ngannou’s next test will occur when the UFC returns to beautiful Stockholm, Sweden on May 28. This test will pit the rising contender against Dutch veteran Stefan “The Skyscraper” Struve, who towers above his opposition at a whopping seven feet tall.

With his thunderous knockout defeat of Andrei Arlovski, Ngannou extended his overall record to 10-1, his win-streak to nine-straight, and his UFC record to 5-0. Since joining the promotion’s roster back in late 2015, he has defeated Luis Henrique by knockout, Curtis Blaydes by doctor stoppage, Bojan Mihajlovic by TKO, Anthony Hamilton by Kimura, and most recently, Arlovski by knockout. None of the Frenchman’s Octagon wins have seen the third round.

Struve, meanwhile, has not been seen in the Octagon since October of 2016, when he became the first man to stop Daniel Omielanczuk, locking up the win with a second round Brabo choke. With this win, the Dutchman extended his streak to two, as his second most recent win saw him score a 16-second, elbow-induced KO over UFC outcast Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. In his most recent bout before this blitzkrieg win, he gave up a decision to Jared Rosholt. Struve was briefly scheduled for a February rematch with Junior Dos Santos, but was forced out of this planned showdown with an injury. He is 28-8 overall.

Who do you think comes out on top in this reported Francis Ngannou vs. Stefan Struve booking? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/2/2017.