Francis Ngannou is back in Saudi Arabia and aiming to make lightning strike twice with his thunderous fists when he faces Anthony Joshua on March 8.
Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, opened Riyadh Season in October last year as a novelty and a curiosity. The formidable 37-year-old had not read that script and sensationally put undefeated WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on the seat of his trunks with a left hook in round three.
Fury managed to grind out a split-decision win but it was some boxing debut from Ngannou — arguably, the greatest in the history of the sport given his lack of notable amateur experience and the calibre of opponent faced.
When Deontay Wilder stunk the joint out against Joseph Parker on December's "Day of Reckoning" card, it left his proposed March meeting with Joshua in tatters. It also teed up take two for Ngannou.
Can he prove his Fury performance was no fluke?
WATCH: Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou, exclusively live on DAZN
Is Francis Ngannou a good boxer?
This is the question that has rumbled all the way through the build-up to "Knockout Chaos".
Before we get into any of the mitigating circumstances, Ngannou's performance against Fury defied belief and was incredibly impressive.
Nevertheless, Fury appeared to be — at best — moderately conditioned. The "Gypsy King" insisted he trained for 12 weeks, but an itemised breakdown of his work over that period would make for pretty interesting reading.
Whether in the gym, on fight night or both, Fury underestimated Ngannou. Also, it was not the first time he had boxed an opponent he was expected to beat easily and carelessly ended up on the canvas.
Ngannou was also something of an unknown quantity. No one knew how he would shape up in a boxing ring. The fact he eschewed the tendency of MMA-crossover fighters to come in square-on and held his boxing shape nicely from an orthodox stance, frequently switching to southpaw, was something of a revelation.
But Joshua and his training team have 10 more rounds of footage to study than Fury did. Surely their man won't fall into similar traps?
"I've been very impressed by Ngannou," British heavyweight Joe Joyce told The Sporting News.
Joyce, a former rival of Joshua's during their amateur days in the Great Britain squad, is in a unique position to judge Friday's matchup, having sparred with Ngannou when he was still in the UFC.
"In the fight against Fury, he showed he can mix it at the top level — especially with that power — and from sparring him, I think his boxing technique has improved."
MORE: Eddie Hearn: AJ has the antidote to Ngannou's 'freak strength'
Although in different disciplines to Ngannou, Joyce also has an esteemed background in martial arts. After graduating from Middlesex University, he travelled to Shaolin Monastery in China's Dengfeng County where he practised Shaolin Kung Fu four times per day.
As such, he is impressed by the adjustments Ngannou has made in such a short space of time at this presumably late stage of his combat career.
"With martial arts, you have legs [to attack with] and legs are longer than arms. For distance [control]… legs are a lot longer and a lot more powerful if you can land certain kicks," he explained.
"There's that, and your punches don't have to be as complicated as [in] boxing. In boxing, you've only got your hands, so there's more finesse and [the technique is] kind of tighter, whereas in MMA you can afford to have your hands a bit more open because you've got your legs as well. You can block with your legs and kick with your legs. It's a different distance.
"Boxing is a lot more footwork and you're getting into closer range to box with your hands. So, it's a big adjustment."
Can Ngannou beat Joshua?
While much of the focus is on the question above and the mystery of how good Ngannou actually is, when assessing his chances of victory, the stylistic differences between Joshua and Fury are key.
Joshua is a far more orthodox, classical boxer than Fury, whose strength lies in his deceptive speed and a languid style. As much as that has befuddled elite heavyweights such as Wilder and Wladimir Klitschko, boxing with lower hands — especially when not in prime condition — gave Ngannou a wide open target for his bombs.
AJ is more likely to box behind a high guard and if he gets into a rhythm behind a piston-like jab then it's easy to envisage the night becoming an ordeal for Ngannou.
However, the fact he decked Fury with a left hook means Joshua must be wary. The same punch left him disorganised when he faced Dillian Whyte in December 2015 and a short, chopping left hook to the temple began his remarkable unravelling against Andy Ruiz Jr. in June 2019.
If Joshua gets careless and Ngannou lands one of those, then all bets are off. It still feels like a big if. Ngannou is a huge underdog and victory over a former two-time unified heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist would be in the conversation for being the biggest upset in boxing history.
You sense "The Predator" would not have it any other way.