Francis Ngannou returned to MMA after five years, finishing Junior Linares late in the first round. Netflix's broadcast did not provide clear replay angles to determine whether Ngannou's uppercut landed cleanly, but alternative footage shows the knockout came after Ngannou connected with a left hand that dropped Linares. Despite Linares never being considered even near top-tier competition and weighing only 100 kg at the weigh-in (making Ngannou 16 kg heavier, the largest weight advantage of his career), the fight lasted 4.5 minutes primarily due to grappling exchanges where Linares attempted takedowns and clinch work to survive. Every striking exchange ended badly for Linares with heavy shots landed. The post concludes that Ngannou looked good both visually and performance-wise, making it more regrettable that his planned fight with Vadim Nemkov did not materialize.
