Francis Ngannou takes the full force of a fitness influencer’s punch and the results are shocking

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou returns to action this weekend and recent footage of him has shocked fans.

Ngannou has not had a mixed martial arts (MMA) fight since his January 2022 victory against Ciryl Gane.

He left the UFC after being stripped of his championship belt in January 2023 because the fighter and the promotion could not agree to the terms of a new contract.

Ngannou revealed he put several requests to the UFC, including a three-fight deal, with the promotion waiving extension clauses and even health insurance for all fighters. Most requests were rejected, according to the fighter.

"In that contract, I'm not an independent contractor,” he told Ariel Helwani on ‘The MMA Hour’.

"In that contract, I have no rights, I have no power. I hand over all the power to you guys, and I've seen in the past how you can utilise that power."

The Cameroonian had a long-term ambition of competing in boxing, a goal he achieved when facing Tyson Fury in October 2023.

Ngannou put in an impressive performance, even flooring Fury in the third round of the contest.

Fans were stunned by his ability to switch hit and his durability during the points defeat to the 'Gypsy King'.

But when facing Anthony Joshua in another boxing bout in March 2024, he was knocked out in the second round.

Since then, the 38-year-old has been training for his return to MMA on October 19.

As ever, Ngannou is in excellent condition, which was put to the test by fitness influencer Will Tennyson. And you can see how it all unfolded in the video above.

Tennyson repeatedly struck the ex-UFC champ with punches to the body, but the heavyweight was left unfazed.

"That's all?” said Ngannou.

“Go harder! My sister hits harder than that, man. Come on. Come on. Come on, man. You can do better."

“Can you at least act a little bit?” Tennyson replied.

“I'm going to hurt my hand. Okay, I give up. I give up.”

The fighter will return to the Octagon in a Professional Fighters League (PFL) heavyweight title fight this Saturday against Renan Ferreira.

Ngannou’s choice of opponent has been criticised, but he insisted that the fight will be a “challenge”.

"People say, 'You're fighting Renan Ferreira, he doesn't have a name,” he told Mirror.

“I'm not fighting his name, I'm fighting a guy with his skills and his talent. I'm facing his talent, he's not a name, we're not throwing our names out there; we're going to fight. What I see is a challenge, the biggest challenge in front of me."