Coming off a devastating knockout win over Alistair Overeem at the end of 2017 and heralded as the next big thing in the heavyweight division heading into his showdown with Miocic in Boston, the first six months of 2018 brought nothing to struggles for the Paris-based fighter.
“Well, I think this year was tough and a learning process,” said Ngannou. “As I said before, after the Stipe fight, it was longer than my whole career in MMA. I learned a lot and it was hard — the process was hard — but when I come out of this, I will be a different fighter; a very, very dangerous fighter.
“Even after (my fight with Derrick Lewis), I thought about it and I worked on many aspects. Going this Saturday, I don’t have space to think about last fight or the next fight. I had enough time to be down. I fell and I was at the bottom, so now I’m really going to (not let that creep back into my mind).”
Eager to snap out of the ugly two-fight skid that has garnered a tremendous amount of attention, Ngannou admitted that he feels pressure heading into this weekend’s showdown with Blaydes, but acknowledged how that is very different than his previous two appearances this year and ultimately a good thing in his mind.
“Honestly, yes — I feel pressure, which is good,” he said. “My two last fights I didn’t feel any pressure, which is something weird. Pressure is good. I feel like a fighter should feel it and it will help you fight better.
“I always felt pressure and then when I didn’t feel any pressure, it didn’t go well,” laughed Ngannou. “Pressure, in fact, is a good thing, so yes, I feel pressure.”
