Francis Ngannou plans to remind people who he is against Philipe Lins

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has fought one mixed martial arts fight since leaving the UFC in 2022. He made quick work of Renan Ferreira at PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants, but that was 18 months ago.

"The Predator" returns to the cage on May 16 on the Most Valuable Promotion and Netflix promoted Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight card at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California against Philipe Lins. And in case people forgot, Ngannou plans to remind the world who he is.

"What do I want to achieve? I want to come back to he scene and then since it's been awhile, give a little bit of a reminder, you know, put some show and then remind people who is Francis Ngannou," he said on MVP Uncut.

Ngannou isn't sleeping on Lins. While the Brazilian may not be a household name, fighters know "Monstro" isn't an easy out for anyone.

"I will press and take an opportunity, but I will not run through him. I'm confident on this and that. And then I can put it this way, confident on the strategy, you know, because I can execute it because I've been training it and then being very sharp on it. It's more about my sharpness like how I'm going to be sharp on everything. That's one of the things I emphasize on and then therefore could be very aggressive," said Ngannou.

"I think he's a very well-rounded fighter. He's slick, not to be slept on. He's a complete fighter. He's a complete fighter. I mean, he has proven. He did good for himself. But I think the difference here is that he has to fight Francis Ngannou. And that's another story."

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This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 12:28 PM.