UFC champion Francis Ngannou has been training with Kamaru Usman as his road to recovery continues.

Throughout the course of the year fans have been eager to track the progress of Francis Ngannou as he continues to recover from knee surgery. 

‘The Predator’ was forced to go under the knife as a result of injuries that were exasperated during his UFC 270 win over Ciryl Gane back in January. The 35-year-old has been documenting his journey to get back to full fitness and while it’s taken some time, he’s finally back on his feet as he gears up for some kind of comeback - whether it be in mixed martial arts or the world of boxing.

Ngannou has never been a stranger to adversity and from injuries to consecutive defeats and beyond, the UFC heavyweight champ has grown and matured into one of the pound-for-pound best fighters in the sport.

Another man who falls into that kind of category is none other than UFC welterweight king Kamaru Usman.

The two men are known to be close friends and in preparation for Ngannou’s return later this year or at the start of 2023, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has welcomed him to ONX Sports to train under Trevor Wittman.

In terms of how the training is actually going, Ngannou provided his team with an honest assessment of how it felt to be moving around again.

“Not too bad, you know. Just too tight. I feel my back pulling. It’s good, but it’s tough. It’s hard to get back. But, as you say, slowly but surely. I have enough months and a lot of time to do that, to come back. I’ll be back.”

Usman’s big moment

As much as Francis Ngannou’s imminent return may excite fans, there’s a contest coming up later this month that should be equally as intriguing.

It’ll take place on August 20 at UFC 278 as Kamaru Usman prepares to defend the UFC welterweight championship against Leon Edwards.

This is a rematch that has been years in the making and even though Usman is viewed by many as the clear favourite, you can bet he won’t be overlooking ‘Rocky’.