Francis Ngannou and former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos faced off in the main event of UFC on ESPN 3 in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday, June 29 at the Target Center. While fans were expecting fireworks, the top heavyweight contenders did just that.
Unfortunately for Junior dos Santos, he came out on the wrong end of a first-round knockout loss.
When it was all said and done, Ngannou needed just 71 seconds to run through dos Santos to stake his claim for yet another shot at the heavyweight crown.
With his win, Ngannou has now stopped Junior Dos Santos, Cain Velasquez and Curtis Blaydes in less than 3 minutes total. In his two ESPN main events — against dos Santos and Cain Velasquez, two former champions — Ngannou has spent just 1 minute and 37 seconds in the cage.
Here are the highlights from Ngannou’s dominant win.
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UFC Minneapolis was the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s third-ever trip to Minnesota. Along with Ngannou’s standout performance, top flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez picked up a big win over Jussier Formiga which could potentially earn him a title shot while Drew Dober and Alonzo Menifield also scored big first round knockouts to set the pace for the main card.
The full results from UFC on ESPN 3 can be seen below.
UFC on ESPN 3 Results
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- Francis Ngannou def. Junior Dos Santos via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:11
- Joseph Benavidez def. Jussier Formiga via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:47
- Demian Maia def. Anthony Rocco Martin by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
- Vinc Pichel def. Roosevelt Roberts by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Drew Dober def. Marco Polo Reyes via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:07
- Alonzo Menifield def. Paul Craig via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:19
- Ricardo Ramos def. Journey Newson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Eryk Anders def. Vinicius Moreira via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:18
- Jared Gordon def. Dan Moret via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Dalcha Lungiambula def. Dequan Townsend via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:42
- Amanda Ribas def. Emily Whitmire via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:10
- Maurice Greene def. Junior Albini via TKO (punches), Round 1 3:38