Tag: Stipe Miocic vs Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou Doesn’t Think Miocic Will Get Immediate Rematch After UFC 220

Francis Ngannou sees himself scoring a quick knockout against incumbent heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 220 this weekend in Boston, and he doesn’t expect to grant the then-former champ an immediate rematch should his vision come into fruition. The terrifying heavyweight title contender vows to stop the champion from setting the record for most […]

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Francis Ngannou sees himself scoring a quick knockout against incumbent heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 220 this weekend in Boston, and he doesn’t expect to grant the then-former champ an immediate rematch should his vision come into fruition.

The terrifying heavyweight title contender vows to stop the champion from setting the record for most heavyweight title defenses, and said as much on record via MMA Junkie following the open workouts leading into Saturday’s UFC 220:

“How many contenders are in the division right now waiting? So I don’t think right away they would just give the rematch to someone who lost. But if he’s there, I’m going to fight everyone. I don’t have a choice in it – I’m open to fight everyone. It doesn’t matter. But I don’t think he’ll be the first one to be a contender again (if I beat him).”

“If I was Stipe, I should be afraid of what’s coming Saturday night,” Ngannou said. “It’s a huge challenge – one he’s never faced. I don’t want to go five rounds, but if I have to go, I will go. I trained for five rounds. But I’m not looking to go five rounds. That’s not in my game plan. (My game plan) is to finish the fight quickly and go back home – maybe have a party.”

Miocic has defended the belt twice since winning it from Fabricio Werdum, defeating Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos. A win over Ngannou would put Miocic in uncharted territory, becoming the only man to hold the heavyweight belt for more than two fights.

Ngannou made his case for a shot at UFC gold after brutally knocking out Overeem at UFC 218 in the first round.

Do you see Miocic setting the record for heavyweight title defenses? Or will Ngannou’s prediction of victory come true?

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Stipe Miocic Admits UFC Wants Francis Ngannou To Win

Stipe Miocic may have racked up five consecutive knockout wins including two title defenses, but it seems like few are picking him to retain the belt when he meets surging freight train Francis Ngannou in the main event of January 20’s UFC 220 from TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. After Ngannou’s thrilling stoppage win over […]

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Stipe Miocic may have racked up five consecutive knockout wins including two title defenses, but it seems like few are picking him to retain the belt when he meets surging freight train Francis Ngannou in the main event of January 20’s UFC 220 from TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

After Ngannou’s thrilling stoppage win over Alistair Overeem at UFC 218, all the hype is on ‘The Predator’ heading into the most anticipated heavyweight showdown in the UFC for some time. With the UFC in desperate need of top-earning personalities, the surging star has been pushed and promoted like few fighters have – and certainly more than Miocic despite the fact that he’s a champion on the brink of setting history himself.

If you watched the admittedly entertaining promo videos for UFC 220 alone, you may think that it was actually Ngannou who was the heavyweight champion, however. Not surprisingly, Miocic has noticed that and isn’t all that enthused about what has transpired. The champion revealed he knows the UFC wants Ngannou to win and that he was feeling a bit disrespected about it on this week’s edition of The MMA Hour, but said he won’t dwell on it.

To him, his record speaks for itself, and even though Ngannou brings scary power to each of his fights, the pressure is actually on him:

“Obviously, for sure,” Miocic said. “Listen, I feel a little bit disrespected, but I’m not going to dwell on it.

“He’s got more hype on him I guess,” Miocic said. “The guy hits super hard. We’re making a big thing about it. I’ve fought some good guys, you know? That’s how we are. I’m not much of a trash talker I just like to fight, that’s what I do.

“All the pressure is on him, honestly. … The best guys he’s faced, I knocked them out two years ago. So, whatever.”

With many of the questions about Ngannou’s ability to beat Miocic based on his ability to stop the perceived takedown attempts coming his way, the champion admitted he hadn’t seen too much on the ground from the hulking ‘Predator’:

“I saw the one submission he had against Anthony Hamilton, the Kimura or whatever, I saw that, but I haven’t really seen any ground work,” Miocic said. “I haven’t really watched, I’ve seen that fight and Andrei Arlovski’s fight are what I’ve seen watching him fight.”

As usual, the unassuming champ appears to be taking a laid-back approach to his latest bout, the kind of calm that has propelled the Ohio native to the recent streak of knockouts of the very best heavyweights in mixed martial arts.

However, many would – perhaps correctly – argue that Ngannou is by far his toughest test so far. The French-Cameroonian knockout machine is a devastating force unlike any we’ve ever seen in the sport, and with his hulking, ripped physique and lightning bolt-emboldened haircut, he’s the polar opposite of the quietly dominant firefighter Miocic.

UFC 220’s main event could kickstart a turnaround of sorts because it’s a contrast of styles the UFC is thirsting for after a dismal year on pay-per-view in 2017, even if it’s painfully obvious whom they want to win.

Do you believe Miocic will channel the perceived disrespect into a record-breaking title defense, or will “The Predator” era begin shockingly soon?

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Francis Ngannou Says There’s Only One Reason Stipe Miocic Is UFC Champ

Francis Ngannou is confident as ever as he finishes preparing for his UFC 220 heavyweight title fight against champion Stipe Miocic. Ngannou has skyrocketed to the top of the division in just two years time, having fought his first UFC fight in 2015. Meanwhile, his opponent has been fighting in the UFC since 2011, and […]

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Francis Ngannou is confident as ever as he finishes preparing for his UFC 220 heavyweight title fight against champion Stipe Miocic.

Ngannou has skyrocketed to the top of the division in just two years time, having fought his first UFC fight in 2015. Meanwhile, his opponent has been fighting in the UFC since 2011, and the challenger believes that’s the only reason why Miocic is the current champ and Ngannou isn’t already.

The Cameroonian-Frenchman elaborated during a recent interview with MMA Junkie:

“You say he’s the champion for a reason, yes, he’s the champion for a reason: He’s the champion because the real champ wasn’t there. Now the real champ is on the way, and (Miocic) is not going to be the champion as long.”

“Sometimes I feel like it’s normal because even before my UFC debut, I always believed in myself. I always believed even before I started the sport in my life that I can do something really great. That’s probably the reason that I started the sport – because I feel that when you feel something in you and something that you can’t explain, you just have to do it to show people.”

Ngannou will get his chance for UFC gold at UFC 220 in Boston on January 20, where the immovable object meets an unstoppable force in Stipe Miocic.

Miocic himself is on a five-fight win streak, all by knockout stoppages and four of which occurred in the first round. However, to Ngannou’s point, Miocic nearly began his MMA career in the UFC, and at times he faltered on his way to maturing into the fighter we see today, dropping fights to Stefan Struve and Junior Dos Santos.

Miocic will look to set a UFC record of three heavyweight title defenses with a win over Ngannou at UFC 220.

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UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou Press Conference

With the year-ending pay-per-view UFC 219 set to go down tomorrow (Sat., December 30, 2017) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the UFC will look to put a strange 2017 behind them and look forward to the potential of a fresh slate in 2018. Part of that potential will start early in the year when […]

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With the year-ending pay-per-view UFC 219 set to go down tomorrow (Sat., December 30, 2017) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the UFC will look to put a strange 2017 behind them and look forward to the potential of a fresh slate in 2018.

Part of that potential will start early in the year when heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic meets surging prospect Francis Ngannou in the main event of January 20’s UFC 220 in Boston in one of the most anticipated UFC heavyweight match-ups in memory. Daniel Cormier will also defend his title against rising star Volkan Oezdemir in the co-main event.

The card has the firepower to get 2018 started right, and the UFC will look to get anticipation going with an official press conference streaming live at 5 pm EST today. Watch the action unfold live here:

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UFC Rankings Update: Francis Ngannou Overtakes Top Spot At HW

Francis Ngannou has risen to the top spot in the latest UFC rankings. The surging heavyweight star improved three spots to No. 1 after his scintillating first-round knockout of former title challenger in the co-main event of last Saturday’s (Dec. 2, 2017) UFC 218 from Detroit. It’s the expected result, as news broke last night […]

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Francis Ngannou has risen to the top spot in the latest UFC rankings.

The surging heavyweight star improved three spots to No. 1 after his scintillating first-round knockout of former title challenger in the co-main event of last Saturday’s (Dec. 2, 2017) UFC 218 from Detroit.

It’s the expected result, as news broke last night that Ngannou would be taking on current champion Stipe Miocic in the main event of January 20’s UFC 220 from Boston, Massachusetts. Miocic has also finished Overeem in the main event of September 2016’s UFC 203, but it wasn’t without some adversity, as ‘The Demolition Man’ dropped the Ohioan in the first frame and had him in trouble before getting stopped with strikes himself.

‘The Predator’ had no such trouble with Overeem, which undoubtedly played into him opening as the betting favorite over Miocic. Ngannou has won six straights fights in the UFC while Miocic has won five, making their title fight one of the best in the recent memory of the UFC’s star power-void heavyweight division.

For now, check out the full updated rankings courtesy of the UFC’s official website right here:

POUND-FOR-POUND
1 Demetrious Johnson
2 Georges St-Pierre
3 Conor McGregor
4 Max Holloway
5 Daniel Cormier
6 TJ Dillashaw
7 Stipe Miocic
8 Tyron Woodley
9 Tony Ferguson
10 Cris Cyborg
11 Cody Garbrandt
12 Amanda Nunes
12 Robert Whittaker +1
14 Joanna Jedrzejczyk +1
15 Dominick Cruz *NR

FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Demetrious Johnson
1 Joseph Benavidez
2 Henry Cejudo
3 Ray Borg
4 Jussier Formiga +1
5 Sergio Pettis -1
6 Wilson Reis
7 Brandon Moreno
8 Ben Nguyen
9 John Moraga
10 Dustin Ortiz
11 Tim Elliott
12 Alexandre Pantoja
13 Louis Smolka
14 Deiveson Figueiredo
15 Magomed Bibulatov

BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: TJ Dillashaw
1 Cody Garbrandt
2 Dominick Cruz
3 Raphael Assuncao
4 Jimmie Rivera
5 John Lineker
6 Bryan Caraway
7 Marlon Moraes
8 Aljamain Sterling
9 John Dodson
10 Thomas Almeida
11 Pedro Munhoz
12 Eddie Wineland
13 Brett Johns *NR
14 Rob Font -1
15 Matthew Lopez -1

FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Max Holloway
1 Jose Aldo
2 Frankie Edgar
3 Ricardo Lamas
4 Cub Swanson
5 Chan Sung Jung
6 Brian Ortega
7 Yair Rodriguez
8 Jeremy Stephens
9 Darren Elkins
10 Renato Moicano
11 Dennis Bermudez
12 Dooho Choi
13 Mirsad Bektic
14 Myles Jury
15 Jason Knight

LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Conor McGregor
1 Tony Ferguson (Interim Champion)
2 Khabib Nurmagomedov
3 Eddie Alvarez +1
4 Edson Barboza -1
5 Justin Gaethje
6 Nate Diaz
7 Dustin Poirier
8 Kevin Lee
9 Michael Chiesa
10 Michael Johnson +1
11 Al Iaquinta -1
12 Beneil Dariush
13 Anthony Pettis
14 Francisco Trinaldo *NR
15 James Vick -1

WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Tyron Woodley
1 Stephen Thompson
2 Robbie Lawler
3 Colby Covington
4 Rafael Dos Anjos
5 Demian Maia
6 Jorge Masvidal
7 Darren Till
8 Carlos Condit
9 Donald Cerrone
10 Santiago Ponzinibbio
11 Neil Magny
12 Kamaru Usman
13 Gunnar Nelson
14 Dong Hyun Kim
15 Yancy Medeiros *NR

MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Georges St-Pierre
1 Robert Whittaker (Interim Champion)
2 Yoel Romero
3 Luke Rockhold
4 Jacare Souza
5 Chris Weidman
6 Kelvin Gastelum
7 Michael Bisping
8 Derek Brunson
9 Anderson Silva
10 David Branch
11 Uriah Hall
12 Vitor Belfort
13 Krzysztof Jotko
14 Lyoto Machida
15 Paulo Costa

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Daniel Cormier
1 Alexander Gustafsson
2 Volkan Oezdemir
3 Glover Teixeira
4 Jimi Manuwa
5 Ovince Saint Preux
6 Mauricio Rua
7 Misha Cirkunov
8 Corey Anderson
9 Ilir Latifi
10 Patrick Cummins
11 Rogerio Nogueira
12 Gadzhimurad Antigulov
13 Tyson Pedro
14 Jared Cannonier
15 Jan Blachowicz

HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Stipe Miocic
1 Francis Ngannou +3
2 Alistair Overeem -1
3 Fabricio Werdum -1
4 Cain Velasquez -1
5 Mark Hunt
6 Derrick Lewis
7 Alexander Volkov
8 Marcin Tybura
9 Curtis Blaydes
10 Stefan Struve
11 Aleksei Oleinik
12 Andrei Arlovski
13 Junior Albini
14 Travis Browne
15 Tim Johnson

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Rose Namajunas
1 Joanna Jedrzejczyk
2 Jessica Andrade
3 Claudia Gadelha
4 Karolina Kowalkiewicz
5 Tecia Torres
6 Cynthia Calvillo +1
7 Michelle Waterson -1
8 Felice Herrig +1
9 Carla Esparza -1
10 Alexa Grasso
11 Cortney Casey
12 Paige VanZant
13 Joanne Calderwood
14 Randa Markos
15 Maryna Moroz

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Nicco Montano
1 Sijara Eubanks *NR
2 Lauren Murphy *NR
3 Roxanne Modafferi *NR
4 Barb Honchak *NR
5 Montana De La Rosa *NR
6 DeAnna Bennett *NR
7 Rachael Ostovich *NR
8 Jessica Rose Clark *NR
9 Mara Romero Borella *NR
10 Shana Dobson *NR
11 Gillian Robertson *NR
12 Kalindra Faria *NR
13 Melinda Fabian *NR
14 Bec Rawlings *NR
15 Emily Whitmire *NR

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Amanda Nunes
1 Valentina Shevchenko
2 Holly Holm
3 Julianna Pena
4 Raquel Pennington
5 Ronda Rousey
6 Cat Zingano
7 Sara McMann
8 Ketlen Vieira
9 Germaine de Randamie
10 Alexis Davis
11 Liz Carmouche
12 Marion Reneau
13 Katlyn Chookagian
14 Bethe Correia
15 Leslie Smith

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Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou Heavyweight Title Slugfest Set For UFC 220

The most anticipated heavyweight bout in MMA right now – and perhaps ever – is set for January’s UFC 220. News arrived from MMA Junkie and was subsequently confirmed by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani tonight (Dec. 6, 2017) that champion Stipe Miocic will take on surging No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou in a potentially explosive […]

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The most anticipated heavyweight bout in MMA right now – and perhaps ever – is set for January’s UFC 220.

News arrived from MMA Junkie and was subsequently confirmed by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani tonight (Dec. 6, 2017) that champion Stipe Miocic will take on surging No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou in a potentially explosive match-up scheduled for the main event of the pay-per-view event from Boston, Massachusetts.

Ngannou (11-1) finalized his shot at the title by knocking out former title contender Alistair Overeem with a vicious first-round knockout at last weekend’s UFC 218 from Detroit. The win gave him an undefeated 6-0 record in the UFC, with all of his victories coming by way of stoppage, including his last four in the first round.

He’ll face by far the biggest test of his MMA career when he meets similarly surging champion Miocic, who was last seen stopping former champion Junior dos Santos at May’s UFC 211 from Dallas, Texas. A contract dispute kept him out of action for the rest of the year.

Miocic (17-2) has been on fire like few UFC heavyweight champions ever have been, winning his last five bouts including two title defenses over Overeem and dos Santos, which put him in a tie for the record for the division’s most consecutive defenses. He’s only lost to dos Santos by split decision and Stefan Struve by TKO in his decorated fight career.

The bout will join the previously scheduled light heavyweight title bout between Daniel Cormier and rising contender Volkan Oezdemir, which was put in possible danger when news recently broke that Oezdemir ha been arrested for felony battery in his adopted home of Florida. The bout will go forward as planned; however, it has reportedly been demoted to the co-main event now.

The pay-per-view event will mark only the fourth time in UFC history that the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles will be defended on the same card.

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