At UFC 239, former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos will collide with one of the few heavyweight punchers with power to rival his own: Francis Ngannou.

Speaking to Helen Yee recently, the former heavyweight champion made a bold prediction for this fight with the ferocious puncher Ngannou. He expects to knock out the hulking Cameroon-born Frenchman in the second round.

“I would knock him out,” he said (transcript via LowKickMMA.com). “I believe second round. I’m very confident with the second round because the first round, I’m always taking time to see what my opponent is offering me, is trying to do during the fight. So then I can figure it out in the first round how things are working and go a little harder on the second one. So that’s why I really believe I can knock people out this way.”

UFC 239, which stands out as the biggest pay-per-view of the year thus far, will be topped by a light heavyweight title fight between seemingly unbeatable champion Jon Jones and ferocious knockout artist Thiago Santos. The card will also feature the latest appearance from two-division champion Amanda Nunes, who will defend her title against the former champ Holly Holm.

This Junior dos Santos vs. Francis Ngannou fight will be joined on the main card by a welterweight battle between top contenders Ben Askren and Jorge Masvidal, and a light heavyweight fight between Luke Rockhold and Jan Blachowicz.

Do you think the former champ Junior dos Santos can make good on this prediction?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 4/26/2019.