Francis Ngannou needed just four words to completely shut down any trash talk with Philipe Lins last night.
The legendary former UFC and PFL heavyweight champion is returning to the cage on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in the co-main event of Netflix’s first ever MMA event. He hasn’t competed since a 2024 win over Renan Ferreira, but has yet to lose his lineal title from his UFC days inside the cage.
Most Valuable Promotions have come in for some criticism after picking ex-UFC star Lins as Ngannou’s opponent instead of a marquee name. However, the Brazilian is very confident that he will pull off the upset in Los Angeles next month.
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Francis Ngannou warns Philipe Lins he will ‘need a gun’ to beat him
There were a number of memorable and viral moments at the New York press conference for MVP MMA last night. Ronda Rousey tore into Kayla Harrison in a vicious rant, while Nate Diaz landed another dig at the UFC in his monologue.
And one hilarious moment that is slightly going under the radar came during Francis Ngannou’s interaction with Philipe Lins. The fight in general is not quite getting the attention that Rousey or Diaz’s match-ups are landing, mostly due to perception around the matchmaking.
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But Lins left the UFC on a four-fight winning streak and has considerably more octagon time since Ngannou’s last title fight for the promotion in January. And he is very confident in his ability to score a monumental upset.
Asked about his preparation, Lins detailed how “Every day, every training session, every week, [I am] understanding better what I need to do to beat Francis Ngannou, with all respect to him.” However, he was silenced when the Cameroonian replied simply: “You’ll need a gun.”
Even Lins had to laugh at the wittiness of the line before insisting that he is excited and can’t wait for fight night.
2026-04-16 13:00:00
