UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou continues to make good progress in his recovery from knee surgery.

Back at UFC 270 in January, Francis Ngannou surprised many fans and pundits by using his improved wrestling skills to defeat Ciryl Gane and successfully retain his UFC heavyweight title. ‘The Predator’ may not have displayed the knockout ability we all know and love him for, but he did what he had to do in order to get his hand raised - and sometimes, that’s all you can ask for at the elite level.

Unfortunately, in the process of getting the W, Ngannou worsened a knee problem he’d been suffering with, resulting in him needing surgery in the weeks after the fight.

As his recovery goes on, the champ is keeping fans updated on how he’s doing via YouTube and social media.

His latest video features close-ups of the scar he’s now been left with from surgery as well as a few quotes from his personal trainer.

“So, Francis is four weeks post-op from his ACL and his MCL surgery. Right now what we’re doing is we’re really focusing on quad strength. He’s gaining his range of motion really well, he’s able to bike, everything like that. So, now we’re working on continuing to improve the strength of his quad, his glutes and hamstrings, just to get him nice and strong and then focus on balance and proprioception.”

Towards the end of the video, Francis himself commented on how recovery is going.

“I can walk now, can’t bend it too much, but I can still go like 110 degree, 115 degree just bending it. I can drive by myself, off crutches, it’s very relaxing compared to the first two or three weeks, that was horrible.”

“I think I better just give it enough time to heal up at once, so I don’t have to redo it. If I try to force it earlier, I think I might have to redo it to go over it again.”

“I’m not a pressure guy, I’ll just relax. I just have to know when to do what I have to do and how to do it properly.”

What’s next?

The answer to this question really does depend on Francis Ngannou’s relationship with the UFC. If it improves, we can expect to see him face one of several challengers for the strap towards the end of the year or potentially at the start of 2023.

If it goes south, a mixed rules showdown with Tyson Fury could actually become a feasible possibility.