Dana, Ngannou, & Another “FAKE” Belt?

Despite the rumours a few months back suggesting that it would be Jon Jones that would serve as the first defense of Francis Ngannou’s heavyweight crown, the seemingly concrete notion that it would be Derrick Lewis, and not Jon, to challenge the champ gave the division at least some clarity.

Because, prior to Ngannou’s second round knockout of Stipe Miocic to take home the belt, the division had endured two years of Stipe and Daniel Cormier’s rivalry - with the exception of DC’s short-notice Derrick Lewis defense at UFC 220.

And in that time, the contenders to the belt - though not as plentiful as they are now - were left to fight it out amongst themselves - not given the opportunity to take their own swing at the belt, unable to take home the earnings of an interim champion if it came to it, despite the huge spells of time between each of the four championship bouts in that two year period.