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Francis Ngannou will fight for the heavyweight title after Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier’s trilogy this weekend.
UFC president Dana White says Francis Ngannou will be next in line for the heavyweight title regardless of the outcome between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier 3 this weekend.
Both Miocic and Cormier have one apiece over each other and will meet for the third time at UFC 252 this Saturday, August 15th. Cormier has said in the lead up to the trilogy that win or lose this will be his last fight, but White told ESPN isn’t so confident that’s the case for ‘DC.’
“No, it’s not. It’s obviously going to depend on how the fight plays out on Saturday night. If Cormier wins in spectacular fashion, this will not be his last fight. And knowing him the way that I do, if he loses, then it will be, ‘I can’t go out like this.’” (Transcription via MMA Fighting)
White said that should Cormier win and vacate the title if he is to retire from the sport, then Miocic would probably still qualify for the a title shot even with a loss.
“It would be hard to deny Stipe,” White told The Schmo. “We’re saying that this Saturday, the greatest heavyweight ever is the winner of this fight, so to say he’s not good enough for another title fight for the vacant title would be crazy.”
Waiting patiently in the shadows for the outcome of the heavyweight trilogy between Miocic and Cormier is the KO artist Ngannou. The Cameroonian has won his last four fights all by first-round stoppage, meaning he too will be in line for a shot at the heavyweight title next.
“Francis is next in line,” White said. “Again, we’ll see what happens on Saturday and then yeah, Francis is the guy.”