UFC 220 was a rough night for Francis Ngannou. The number one heavyweight contender became Stipe Miocic’s latest victim. The heavyweight title bout served as UFC 220’s main event. Miocic would break the UFC record for most successful heavyw…
UFC 220 was a rough night for Francis Ngannou. The number one heavyweight contender became Stipe Miocic’s latest victim. The heavyweight title bout served as UFC 220’s main event. Miocic would break the UFC record for most successful heavyweight title defenses with a win. He got the job done. Miocic found some success early on […]
Maybe now Stipe Miocic will get a little respect.
Miocic, 35, became the first man to ever defend the UFC heavyweight championship more than two times consecutively by easily beating challenger Francis Ngannou in UFC 220’s main event Saturday in B…
Miocic, 35, became the first man to ever defend the UFC heavyweight championship more than two times consecutively by easily beating challenger Francis Ngannou in UFC 220‘s main event Saturday in Boston.
Plenty of excellent fighters have sat atop the UFC’s heavyweight division. None have been able to turn away more than two challengers in a row. Mostly, it’s just the nature of the heavyweight division; the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Heavyweights are large, violent men, and thus the bouts between them are more prone to defying our expectations.
After all, when a 245-pound man lands a punch, any notion of favorites and underdogs go flying out the window.
Maybe that’s why we all overlooked the 35-year-old Miocic going into his latest title fight. The 6’4″, 263-pound Ngannou was the new, younger and very much larger thing. The shiny thing. He had an interesting back story. The 31-year-old only learned mixed martial arts four years ago. He threw the strongest punch by any human in the history of recorded punches (a thing that ranks up there with the zaniest of UFC-invented promotional tools). I mean, just look at the size of the man. Look at what he can do. He’s not human.
Except, as it turns out, Ngannou was human. All of that muscle, all the power and the Mike Tyson comparisons and the highlight reels of Alistair Overeem’s soul departing from this Earth—all of it was for naught. Because when it comes down to it, as defending light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier told Volkan Oezdemir before spanking him and sending him on his way Saturday: There are levels to this. And Ngannou, for all his crackling potential, is not on Miocic’s level.
But then, it could be that nobody is on Miocic’s level. And why is this something we only realize after the fact? Why are we so eager to embrace the Next Big Thing instead of appreciating the thing we already have that’s so much better? Why did we get so obsessed with Ngannou after one big knockout on the national stage?
Maybe it’s Miocic’s mumbling, aw-shucks Midwestern demeanor. His personality outside the cage—or at least the one the notoriously shy Ohio native allows us to see—is about as exciting as watching paint fade. Perhaps it’s that Miocic seems, at least outside the cage, like a real human being instead of the kind of ridiculous cartoon personality we often find at the upper end of the the UFC’s rankings.
I mean, the man is a real-life paramedic who holds a near-full time job at a fire station in Cleveland while also being the UFC heavyweight champion and a rich man.
Maybe it’s that we’re always looking for the next big thrill, and boy, Ngannou knew how to thrill. At least for one round. After that, his energy reserves were completely dry, and that’s when Miocic took over.
Sure, the rest of the fight was terribly boring, but can you blame Miocic for taking the path he did? Can you blame him for putting Ngannou on his ass whenever humanly possible and keeping him there, by hook or by crook? That’s the calling card of a smart fighter: doing what it takes to win, even if it’s not the most popular or aesthetically pleasing solution.
Miocic cruised to an easy decision with 50-44 scores across the board. It was a one-sided shellacking. When asked by Joe Rogan about claiming the record for most consecutive title defenses in UFC heavyweight history, Miocic responded in exactly the fashion you’d expect (via MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani):
Next week, Miocic will probably return to the firehouse in Ohio, where his colleagues will razz him. He’ll make coffee for his fellow firemen. He’ll live a normal life, which is really all he seems to want in the first place. But he’ll do so as the greatest UFC heavyweight champion in history.
And next time he fights, whether it’s against Cain Velasquez or any other top contender, we’d do well to remember why it was so ridiculous for us to overlook him in the first place.
The UFC 220 headliner was marketed as the battle for the title of “The Baddest Man on the Planet.” If that was the case, there’s no argument that Stipe Miocic proved he’s the rightful owner of that moniker.
Francis Ngannou was the up-and-comer re…
The UFC 220 headliner was marketed as the battle for the title of “The Baddest Man on the Planet.” If that was the case, there’s no argument that Stipe Miocic proved he’s the rightful owner of that moniker.
Francis Ngannou was the up-and-comer ready to take the division by storm. He might do that one day, but Miocic was there to prove the day hasn’t come yet. Instead, the champ avoided the challenger’s early storm and imposed his will Saturday in a unanimous-decision win (50-44, 50-44, 50-44) at Boston’s TD Garden.
Miocic came out wrestling from the start. While Ngannou was flailing at air, Miocic ducked under and looked for single-leg takedowns. They weren’t all successful, but they got the job done. Eventually, he got the challenger down and started his war of attrition.
It only took about one round for Miocic’s plan to take form. The champion started tagging an exhausted Ngannou. The UFC passed along an example:
From there, Miocic put on a clinic. He swarmed Ngannou with pressure and forced him to fight into the third round for the first time.
Miocic also tired out toward the end of the bout, but it was as one-sided as a five-round championship clash can be. UFC.com’s Damon Martin broke down the numbers:
It was an incredible performance that officially makes Miocic the most dominant champion in UFC heavyweight history. He’s the first heavyweight champion to successfully defend the belt three times consecutively.
In typical Miocic fashion, he spent the post-fight interview expressing his excitement over becoming a father:
He might not be the greatest showman in the business, but at UFC 220 he showed he has an argument that he’s the greatest heavyweight in the organization’s history.
Miocic’s defining moment wasn’t the only thing that went down Saturday, though. Here’s a look at the rest of the card:
Main card
Stipe Miocic def. Francis Ngannou via unanimous decision
Daniel Cormier def. Volkan Oezdemir via second-round TKO (2:00)
Calvin Kattar def. Shane Burgos via third-round TKO (0:32)
Gian Villante def. Francimar Barroso via split decision
Rob Font def. Thomas Almeida via second-round KO (2:24)
Undercard
Kyle Bochniak def. Brandon Davis via unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)
Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Sabah Homasi via first-round KO (3:47)
Dustin Ortiz def. Alexandre Pantoja via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Julio Arce def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Enrique Barzola def. Matt Bessette via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
Islam Makhachev def. Gleison Tibau via first-round KO (0:57)
Daniel Cormier vs. Volkan Oezdemir
Daniel Cormier is still the UFC light heavyweight champion. DC successfully defended his belt to remind everyone he’s the best fighter in the division not named Jon Jones.
Challenger Volkan Oezdemir made things interesting in the opening moments. He came out swinging and landed a few shots but nothing that put Cormier in any real danger.
Once DC timed up the Swiss challenger, it was the beginning of the end. Cormier connected with looping hooks that found a home on Oezdemir’s chin. The UFC showed off some of his best work:
By the end of the round, Cormier was sinking in a rear-naked choke that would have ended the fight if it weren’t for the bell.
It didn’t take long for him to pick up where he left off, though. He latched on a single-leg takedown to start the second frame and worked his way into side control where he landed enough uncontested shots that the fight was halted.
After the fight, Cormier spent some time talking about longtime rival and former light heavyweight champion Jones but quickly changed the topic to his gym and the opportunity they have to rack up the titles in the coming year:
Calvin Kattar vs. Shane Burgos
Calvin Kattar is a name to watch in the featherweight division after his impressive third-round TKO victory over Shane Burgos.
The featherweights engaged in a fast-paced striking matchup through the first two rounds. Burgos put the pressure on Kattar, but The Boston Finisher countered his aggression with a slick jab that he used in a variety of ways to set up combinations.
The UFC passed along an example of the kind of exchanges that characterized the fight:
Everything flipped on a straight right in the third and final frame. Kattar followed up a missed jab with a stiff straight right that rocked Burgos and precipitated a combination that would floor him and draw the finish.
Kattar may be new to the scene with just two fights in his UFC career. But with those wins coming over Andre Fili and Burgos on big stages, he emerged from the night as one of the biggest winners.
Gian Villante vs. Francimar Barroso
The light heavyweight matchup of Gian Villante and Francimar Barroso wasn’t one of the most anticipated fights on the card, and it lived up to that billing. Villante took an uneventful decision win.
The former Hofstra University football player put forth pressure by staying in the pocket with Barroso, but that didn’t mean much as Barroso did little to move him from that spot. The UFC passed along one of the few highlights from the bout:
It was a solid win for Villante even if it was a bit forgettable. He did what he had to do to get his hand raised, which was keep Barroso’s back to the fence and keep the pressure on him.
The performance from Barroso could only be described as a letdown. Michael Carroll of FightMetric noted the poor showing:
The win is a bounce back for Villante after back-to-back losses to Patrick Cummins and Shogun Rua, although it’s hard to say this does anything spectacular for his stock.
Rob Font vs. Thomas Almeida
Thomas Almeida’s slide from up-and-coming phenom to also-ran bantamweight continued when Rob Font landed a vicious knockout in the second round.
Almeida took the early lead in the first round, landing more efficiently in a tactical striking matchup. Font’s volume paid off in the second round, though. The 30-year-old kept attacking, and it paid off when he landed a hard combination that floored Almeida and the beginning of the end was put in motion.
Luke Thomas of MMA Fighting gave props to Font for the finish:
It’s a big win as it allows Font to rebound from a loss to Pedro Munhoz his last time out. The improvements were easy to see from that loss, and he should see a bump up in the rankings.
For Almeida, his once skyrocketing stock comes crashing down. After starting his career 20-0, he’s 1-3 in his last four fights. Winning his next bout will be pivotal to continuing to get opportunities in the organization.
Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier had several questions to answer when he faced off against surging slugger Volkan Oezdemir in the co-main event of last night’s (Sat., January 20, 2018) UFC 220 from TD Garden in Boston after only retaining the championship when Jon Jones knocked him out at last July’s UFC 214 and was […]
Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier had several questions to answer when he faced off against surging slugger Volkan Oezdemir in the co-main event of last night’s (Sat., January 20, 2018) UFC 220 from TD Garden in Boston after only retaining the championship when Jon Jones knocked him out at last July’s UFC 214 and was subsequently suspended for a second USADA violation.
And all Cormier did was answer those questions with resounding answers that left no doubt as to who the best 205-pound competitor in the UFC is.
‘No Time’ came out throwing a ton of volume early, hitting Cormier with several accurate left hands as he kept his activity level high. Cormier’s legendary chin held true as his nearly always does, however, and ‘The King of the Grind’ soon saw the fight turn in his favor. A stinging straight right found a home, followed by a massive left hook that injured Oezdemir’s eye, leading to a single leg that ground Oezdemir and saw him in a potentially fight-ending rear-naked choke until the bell saved him.
The second round tied a bow on Cormier’s dominant show as he utilized a textbook takedown to instantly mount ‘No Time,’ transitioning to the crucifix where he rained down a never-ending series of ground punches to give the ref no choice but to stop the fight at 2:00 of the round.
Watch the video highlights of Cormier’s telling, dominant win here:
“He may be from Switzerland, but Volkan’s not a Swiss army knife. He only has one tool!” — @KennyFlorian
Abdul Razak Alhassan has a victory that he won’t soon forget. On the FOX Sports 1 portion of the UFC 220 preliminary bouts, Abdul Razak Alhassan took on Sabah Homasi. The bout took place inside the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. This was a r…
Abdul Razak Alhassan has a victory that he won’t soon forget. On the FOX Sports 1 portion of the UFC 220 preliminary bouts, Abdul Razak Alhassan took on Sabah Homasi. The bout took place inside the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. This was a rematch from their controversial bout back in December. Alhassan left no doubt […]
UFC 220 is in the books and the post-fight presser is here. The event took place inside TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. In the main event, heavyweight champion successfully defended his title against Francis Ngannou. He now holds the record for mos…
UFC 220 is in the books and the post-fight presser is here. The event took place inside TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. In the main event, heavyweight champion successfully defended his title against Francis Ngannou. He now holds the record for most successful UFC heavyweight title defenses. The co-main event also featured a title bout. […]
Maybe now