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Junior Dos Santos and Francis N’Gannou have felt what it is like to be on top of the food chain in the MA world.
Both have been considered the best heavyweight in the world at different times and for very different reasons.
There is no greater spot that being the best heavyweight in the world as you are the biggest and the baddest in the world.
There is nobody that can deal with your power and ability as even the great smaller fighters would never be able to deal with the size of the heavyweights.
Although the heavyweight division hasn’t really had the same lustre that it used to in the past there is still that love of the heavyweights.
For N’Gannou and dos Santos, their main event on ESPN is the chance for them to gather some of that magic and get back to the title.
N’Gannou was never a title holder but there was no shortage of hype surrounding him throughout the year in 2018.
He was the next one, the young star that was going to bring the heavyweight division back to relevance in the UFC.
The UFC spent a lot of time and money showcasing the relatively young Cameroonian and highlighting his power.
N’Gannou was built as the hardest hitter among the hardest hitters in MMA making him one of the scariest fighters in the sport.
His knockout of Alistair Overeem will be used for decades as one of the greatest fight highlights ever.
That knockout also earned him a title shot against Stipe Miocic where he was essentially supposed to take the title and begin a rule over the division for a while.
Like so many young fighters though, N’Gannou was exposed by a fighter of much higher skill.
Miocic used his wrestling background to eliminate the power of N’Gannou while N’Gannou looked lost on the mat.
N’Gannou took the loss and suddenly looked human especially after losing his next fight against Derrick Lewis.
The monster was gone and the future of the division was now just an afterthought while the UFC moved on to other things.
N’Gannou went back to the drawing board and despite the lack of talk around him, put together two straight wins against Curtis Blaydes and Cain Velasquez.
Dos Santos is in a very similar boat as N’Gannou as the former champion was a champion at a high point for the division.
He was looking like the unbeatable guy until he ran into a rising Velasquez who took him out and took the championship.
He would rise back for the rematch but once again took a loss, leading him to a period of uncertainty in his career.
After his second loss, he tried to stay active but injuries began to pile up and a USADA suspension kept him to four fights in the next four years.
After that suspension, Dos Santos came back re-energized and looking to make a run back to the title.
Since his return, Dos Santos has put up three straight wins against some rising stars and established ones.
Now he gets to fight N’Gannou, a fight originally scheduled for 2017 until Dos Santos failed a USADA test.
Both fighters are only a win away from getting back to the title fight as this win could put them right there.
Of course, the biggest mystery will be what Daniel Cormier is going to do as the latest rumours seem to be that he will fight Stipe Miocic in a rematch and then retire.
A win in this main event on this type of stage is sure to help either fighter find their way to the top of the challenger list.
How long they will need to wait for a real shot is still up in the air leaving their future as uncertain.
The Sport Addiction 