B. Schaub weighing in for the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube UFC on Fox
The 'old guard' of MMA enthusiasts will certainly remember Brendan Schaub. This week, the former heavyweight declared that the Brazilian Junior Gypsy, brutally defeated by the giant Francis Ngannou, last Saturday (29), at UFC Minneapolis, he was afraid of his opponent's strength and, therefore, his performance was influenced in his last commitment.
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“I warned you it would be a knockout in the first round. I didn't think it would be a knockout like that, but I thought he was going to swing him first and knock him to the ground. You can't imagine how hard Francis hits. When Junior (Cigano) turned his back on him I said: 'what are you doing, man?' And then, that's it. The blow behind the ear that knocked him down”, declared the fighter.
Schaub stated that he had never seen the Brazilian act like that, so cautious. Júnior was on a great streak of three consecutive victories, which put him in Ultimate's sights as a possible challenger for the heavyweight title, if he defeated Ngannou. However, the Santa Catarina native succumbed to the power of the French-Cameroonian and suffered a brutal knockout less than two minutes into the fight.
“That was the first time I saw Cigano look hesitant. This shows how much of a scary guy Francis is. This showed that Junior was scared to face him. You could tell he was scared,” said Brendan.
Schaub, now 36 years old, worked in the UFC between 2009 and 2014. The athlete, who worked in the heavyweight category (up to 120,2 kg.) came to fight against big names in the history of MMA, such as Roy Nelson, Andrei Arlovski and the Brazilian Rodrigo Minotauro. Within the company, the fighter performed 11 times, triumphed in six and was defeated in five.
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