Photo | Francis Ngannou is looking absolutely jacked ahead of UFC 249

Former heavyweight title challenger Francis Ngannou will return to the Octagon at UFC 249 for a pivotal clash with Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

The bout will mark Ngannou’s first appearance since June of 2019, where he scored a first round TKO victory over former title holder Junior dos Santos in Minneapolis.

That victory served as ‘The Predator’s’ third in a row, as he had previously scored knockout wins over Curtis Blaydes and Cain Velasquez respectively.

Despite the long layoff and limited training measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Francis Ngannou appears to be in phenomenal condition ahead of next weekend’s highly anticipated UFC 249 event.

As seen in this recent photo courtesy of @TalkMMA, Francis Ngannou is looking scarier than ever for his fight with Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Clean athlete … pic.twitter.com/NvcbWcCPHP

— #Dizz (@TalkMMA) May 2, 2020

While ‘The Predator’ is very excited to make his return to action, he is not overly happy that he is participating in a non-title bout.

“What do I believe? I believe that I should be fighting for a title right now,” Francis Ngannou recently stated. “I thought after Stipe-DC, I would be the one in line, that’s what I believed. Now I’m here, I’m about to do this fight [against Rozenstruik] which is not for the title or an interim title. The point is, it’s not my call. I don’t decide what it’s going to be regardless what my thought is about what is fair, once again it’s not my call so I just do what I have to do. I truly believe that I was in the spot to fight for the title, that’s my thought.”

Although he is not fighting for a title at UFC 249, Francis Ngannou is set to meet a top contender in Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Rozenstruik currently boasts a perfect professional record of 10-0, and is coming off a knockout win over Alistair Overeem in his most recent Octagon appearance.

Who are you picking to emerge victorious when heavyweight knockout artists Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Francis Ngannou collide at UFC 249? Share your predictions in the comments section PENN Nation!

on May 2, 2020