Philipe Lins wants to make the most of his opportunity and shock the MMA world Saturday, when he battles former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou on MVP’s first-ever MMA event live on Netflix in Inglewood, Calif.
Lins won the 2018 heavyweight season in PFL and left the UFC on a four-fight winning streak in 2024, and now he gets the chance to steal the show in front of thousands of fans at the Intuit Dome. The Brazilian fighter is the least popular of the top six fighters involved in the card, and the B-side of the Ngannou clash, and that’s one of the things that motivates him the most.
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“We’re already making history even before this fight happens, with this first event on Netflix,” Lins told MMA Fighting. “A win over Francis Ngannou, with everything he’s done in MMA and the legacy he’s built, would permanently put my name in MMA history as the guy who beat Francis Ngannou. It would be like a work of art, you know? Something that would take my career to a very high level. I’m a very simple guy, though. I don’t let myself get carried away thinking about what could happen. Even if this victory happens, I’ll still be the same person as always. Calm, grounded, enjoying life. But without a doubt, beating Francis Ngannou would be something extraordinary, and I still can’t even put it into words.”
Ngannou vs. Lins is scheduled for five rounds, and the American Top Team product vows to be ready to go all 25 minutes even though more than two-thirds of his MMA wins have come by way of finish, with nine knockouts and four submissions against five decisions. Yet, “Monstro” feels that dragging Ngannou to deep waters could give him the edge.
“I’ll be prepared to fight all five rounds. I think the longer the fight goes, the better it is for me,” Lins said. “I look at his fight against Stipe Miocic as an example. I’m going to frustrate him, look for openings. It’s very difficult to find holes in his game. I’ll be ready to go five rounds with him, fight smart, use all my skills, and apply them the right way in this fight. But I’m also a guy who looks for the knockout and submissions. I’ll wait for the right moment. This is high level, so you have to know how to use your abilities and wait for the right opportunity.”
Lins said the two years away from the cages gave him a window to heal injuries, fix holes in his game, and focus on his personal life, and he feels rejuvenated as he approaches his 41st birthday in August. Lins calls this match “the biggest opportunity of my career so far,” competing before “legendary athletes” Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. A win would be career-changing as he will be a free agent come next week.
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“A win over Francis Ngannou would be big,” Lins said. “He’s a guy who needs no introduction, who has fought huge names, was UFC champion, knocked out most of the guys he faced, and all the history he has. He crossed over from MMA and fought two boxing champions, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. He came back to MMA and is coming off two wins. Francis Ngannou will be the biggest challenge of my career, the most important fight of my career. I know that. It’s a huge challenge ahead of me. But I’m an experienced fighter, and I know how to win fights. A win over Francis Ngannou would put my name at the very highest level of MMA, in MMA history forever. It would be something extraordinary. I believe in my potential, in my skills, and I’m chasing this victory.”
Lins said MVP is paying him more than he was making in the UFC between 2020 and 2024, but is still below the figures received for his PFL season finale knockout victory over Josh Copeland back in 2018. In fact, Lins admits it took time for him to get over the fact that the UFC wasn’t interested in re-signing him despite being on a winning streak over Ion Cutelaba, Maxim Grishin, Ovince Saint Preux, and Marcin Prachnio.
“That last fight in 2024, against Cutelaba, was the final fight on my contract, and they decided not to renew it,” Lins said. “I wanted to stay with the promotion, but it was an internal decision on their side not to renew my deal. What I can say about the UFC is that I’ll always be very grateful for everything they did for me and for all the opportunities they gave me inside the organization. They took my career to another level, and I’ll always appreciate everything the UFC did for me.”
“When I spoke to my manager, and he told me the UFC wasn’t going to renew my contract, it was really difficult,” he continued. “At the same time, I also felt a little responsible for it. There were a couple of fights that didn’t happen, like two fights where I ended up pulling out during fight week because I wasn’t feeling well. The UFC is such a huge organization, and there’s a lot involved. Maybe my age also played a role in their decision not to renew my contract. It was very hard at first. In the beginning, it was difficult to process, but as the days passed, I calmed down and got my head straight. And there are other organizations out there, right? Netflix is doing its first event now and giving opportunities to great athletes. I think they came to stay and compete with these major organizations. But at first, it was really hard.”
