Francis Ngannou Wants Brock Lesnar Next, Open To Fighting Anthony Joshua

UFC heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou only has one name in mind for his next fight in the octagon — Brock Lesnar.

Ngannou saw his stock quickly rise in the last year as his knockouts over the likes of Andrei Arlovski and Alistair Overeem, with the latter going viral on social media, saw many peg him as the next heavyweight champion.

The French-Cameroonian was handed a title shot against Stipe Miocic next at UFC 220 in January and while many expected a knockout in the contest, it was the latter who completely dominated Ngannou on the ground to win a lopsided unanimous decision and remain champion.

After suffering his first-ever loss under the Las Vegas promotion's banner, Ngannou took some time off social media but is now back, urging Lesnar to return to the company and face him in what many mixed martial arts (MMA) fans consider a dream fight.

"Please Brock, come back, come back my friend. We need you here," Ngannou said on The MMA Hour on Monday. "We need you to put the fun in this division. I need you to give me that f*****g fight I’ve been waiting for for a long time, I’ve been dreaming for."

"It’s up to what (the UFC) want to give me. There are a lot of people out there who want to fight me. I saw Mark Hunt [challenge me], he would be a great one. By myself, I want Brock. Brock Lesnar. I like the fight. He look like — I don’t know if you ever seen this guy, he looks very, very big and strong. And I really want to try that."

Lesnar, of course, was the former UFC heavyweight champion and cash-cow for President Dana White before the likes of Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey. He is, however, currently contracted with the WWE, where he is expected to defend his Universal title against Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 34 on April 8, with rumours that his deal expires afterward.

Should he return to the promotion, he would still have to serve six months in the United States Anti-Doping Agency testing pool after his one-off UFC 200 win over Mark Hunt in July 2016 was overturned due to a failed drug test resulting in a one-year suspension.

Another option likely in the long-term is boxing heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who recently revealed he would love to enter the world of MMA and potentially take on Ngannou. "The Predator" is fine with that and is even open to fighting Joshua in a boxing ring as well.

"I heard Anthony Joshua say he’s gonna fight in MMA and if he wants to face me and I was like, ‘Hey, you’re welcome, man,’" Ngannou added. "We gonna do it both sides, in the Octagon and inside the ring."

Realistically though, the likely options for Ngannou is either a fight with Hunt or Derrick Lewis, with the latter repeatedly mocking him for the manner of his defeat against Miocic.