MVP MMA: Francis Ngannou vs Philipe Lins Preview & Prediction

Widely regarded as the heaviest hitter in MMA history, former UFC heavyweight kingpin, Francis Ngannou (18-3), returns for his first MMA contest since decimating Renan Ferreira under the PFL banner in late 2024, following a two fight flirtation with the sport of boxing in matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Renowned for his murderous punching power, half of Ngannou’s UFC fights ended before the clock had even hit two minutes. “The Predator” left a trail of broken heavyweights in his wake en route to seizing the heavyweight title from Stipe Miocic via devastating KO, defending his title against Cyril Gane before signing with the PFL after his UFC contract expired.

Philipe Lins: Can "Monstro" play spoiler as a massive underdog?

Winner of the PFL’s 2018 heavyweight tournament, Phillipe Lins (18-5) hasn’t been seen in the cage since a unanimous decision victory over Ion Cutelaba back in 2024. The 40 year old Brazilian has fought at light heavyweight and heavyweight throughout his career, although his four most recent bouts took place at 205 pounds. A prolific finisher with thirteen stoppages in eighteen professional victories, Lins tends to be a kill or be killed style of fighter, going out on his shield in four of his five defeats. A polished striker with a serviceable ground game, the Brazilian looks to upset the applecart as an enormous underdog.

Francis Ngannou vs Philipe Lins prediction

Is this really the best opponent that MVP could find for Ngannou?

Lins is a decent fighter, but he’s also 40 years old, hasn’t fought in over two years, and has spent the vast majority of his career fighting at light heavyweight. I’d hesitate to pick him against a large portion of the UFC’s meagre Top 10 at 265 pounds, let alone against arguably the scariest heavyweight knockout artist in the history of the entire sport. It’s not even like “Monstro” has a ground game to fall back on; while he’s never been dominated on the mat, Lins is primarily a striker.

Ngannou might be coming off a similar period of inactivity, but I put a lot more stock in a dominant TKO over Renan Ferreira than a decision over Ion Cutelaba in terms of the pair’s respective last appearances. As with all Ngannou fights, “The Predator” also has the ultimate equalizer working in his favour; namely, that he only needs to land a single punch to send his opponent to the shadow realm.

At the end of the day, even if he has lost a step, Ngannou has beaten and finished some of the best heavyweights in MMA history. It seems exceedingly unlikely that a man who was KO’d by Tanner Boser is going to present him with anything that he hasn’t seen before. Lins has already been knocked out four times in his career, and it stands to reason that the Mike Tyson of MMA is going to follow suit.

Prediction: Francis Ngannou to win by first round KO