Francis Ngannou’s striking coach Dewey Cooper has delivered a confident assessment of where the former UFC heavyweight champion stands heading into his MVP MMA debut against Philipe Lins on Saturday’s Netflix card, making a sweeping claim about Ngannou’s place in the current heavyweight landscape.
Speaking on MVP UNCUT, Cooper pointed to Ngannou’s championship record across two organizations as the foundation for his argument.
“He’s a two-company world champion. He’s never been dethroned. He’s never lost his championship belt in two major organizations. Francis is undoubtedly the best heavyweight mixed martial artist in the world. He’s never lost the championship in either company. So, he has a standard that he puts himself on.”
Cooper was enthusiastic about Ngannou’s preparation for the return, which marks his first MMA competition since October 2024.
“Everything is terrific, man. May 16th. We’re super excited. I really feel it’s a great incentive, it being the first mixed martial arts fight on Netflix. I think that puts the cherry on top for him psychologically because he’s been training extremely well and we can’t wait until fight night. He looks phenomenal. We’re excited about what he’s going to show fight night. It’s going to be something fantastic. He’s on another level, guys.”
Ngannou departed the PFL earlier this year and signed with Most Valuable Promotions, with Saturday’s card at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood marking his promotional debut. Lins is a former PFL heavyweight tournament winner and a credible name for Ngannou’s return without representing a top-five divisional threat. The five-round scheduling of the bout suggests MVP wants Ngannou active and visible on the historic card.
Rousey vs. Carano headlines the Netflix event with Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry in the co-main event.