Coach Claims Francis Ngannou Landed An Illegal Strike On Cain Velasquez

Javier Mendez, the longtime coach of Cain Velasquez, is claiming that an illegal shot from Francis Ngannou was missed at UFC on ESPN 1.

Velasquez and Ngannou squared off in the headliner of February’s UFC event in Phoenix, with “The Predator” emerging victorious by way of first round knockout.

While many pointed to Velasquez’s knee injury when addressing the loss, Coach Mendez believes an illegal hammerfist from Ngannou is going unnoticed (via MMAFIGHTING).

“[Velasquez] wasn’t getting around too well (after the fight). But the screwed up [part] about that whole thing, originally when I saw the fight, I kept having to replay it, replay it, and I never saw what the hell happened. And I was thinking, well, what the hell? It’s just his knee gave out, right? And of course his knee gave out, right? But then it wasn’t until I was home and he leaves me a text message and he goes, ‘I was fine until he hammerfisted me in the back of the head.’ And I’m like, what? What are you talking about, hammerfist? So I replayed the goddamn video and the very first strike that was hit was an illegal shot right behind the back of the head, when he shot in. And he said that dazed him a teeny bit and that’s what started this whole sequence, and nobody ever saw it. It was an illegal shot. If the ref would’ve caught it, it would’ve been a no contest.”

As it stands, the official record books have Francis Ngannou defeating Cain Velasquez by way of knockout in just 26 seconds at UFC on ESPN 1 in February of 2019.

Ngannou is now preparing to face Velasquez’s old rival in former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos.

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