Over the last few months, hulking UFC heavyweight Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis has made repeated callouts of recent UFC heavyweight title challenger Francis Ngannou.

“My coach just believes that I would really destroy Francis. My coach don’t like Francis at all either. I believe that I’m better than Francis all the way around,” Lewis said in a recent interview with FloCombat. “Striking, grappling, ground game, submission, whatever. I believe I’ve got better conditioning than him. I’m better disciplined. I listen to my coaches. I really believe I could beat this guy.”

“Hopefully we can get something before [Francis Ngannou] turns 50 on us,” Lewis added on a subsequent episode of the Slip N’ Dip Podcast, shortly after he knocked out Marcin Tybura. “Usually after every fight, I tell them I would like to fight this guy. I always try to pick out the toughest guys that’s out there. […] I told them Francis, I told them [Alistair] Overeem, even a rematch with Mark [Hunt]. Who’s the other guy, [Curtis] Blaydes and Fabricio [Werdum].”

After several weeks of silence, during which he was enjoying time off with his family, Francis Ngannou has finally responded to Lewis’s repeated barbs.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgeMfEmFI75/

“Derrick has been talking some of his shit while I was off,” Ngannou said in a Sunday Instagram post. “Can someone please let him know that I’m here now, so if he really wants me, he should send his manager to deal with [UFC].”

Who do you think comes out on top in a heavyweight showdown between Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/18/2018.