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Fight with Jones scheduled
Miocic will take on Jon Jones in UFC 295 on November 11 in Madison Square Garden, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Jones will be looking to defend his heavyweight title against one of the greatest of all time in Miocic. The last time Miocic competed was in March of 2021 when he fell to Francis Ngannou via KO in Round 2 of UFC 260. Both Jones and Miocic have been talking about this matchup for years, so it's nice to see that it's finally happening.
Jones will be looking to defend his heavyweight title against one of the greatest of all time in Miocic. The last time Miocic competed was in March of 2021 when he fell to Francis Ngannou via KO in Round 2 of UFC 260. Both Jones and Miocic have been talking about this matchup for years, so it's nice to see that it's finally happening.
Drops UFC Heavyweight Championship
Miocic lost his UFC Heavyweight Championship on Saturday, falling to Francis Ngannou via KO (punches) at 0:52 of Round 2 at UFC 260 in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
This certainly wasn't Miocic's best effort, but there isn't a man on earth who can touch Ngannou if he fights like he did in this one. Stipe got nothing going offensively for the entirety of the bout. He tried one takedown fairly early on and ended up receiving about a half dozen bombs to the side of his head for his effort. Miocic ate countless shots that would have fallen any mere mortal. It eventually got Stipe, too, but the fact he got out of the first round was nothing short of a miracle. This result was more about the greatness of Ngannou as opposed to anything Miocic did wrong. Stipe probably deserves an immediate rematch given how great he has been over the past several years, but this fight was extremely lopsided and the looming presence of Jon Jones' move up to heavyweight likely leaves Stipe on the outside looking in in terms of another immediate title shot. Francis is interested in getting right back in the Octagon this summer, while an Instagram post from Miocic on Monday suggested he plans to take some time off.
This certainly wasn't Miocic's best effort, but there isn't a man on earth who can touch Ngannou if he fights like he did in this one. Stipe got nothing going offensively for the entirety of the bout. He tried one takedown fairly early on and ended up receiving about a half dozen bombs to the side of his head for his effort. Miocic ate countless shots that would have fallen any mere mortal. It eventually got Stipe, too, but the fact he got out of the first round was nothing short of a miracle. This result was more about the greatness of Ngannou as opposed to anything Miocic did wrong. Stipe probably deserves an immediate rematch given how great he has been over the past several years, but this fight was extremely lopsided and the looming presence of Jon Jones' move up to heavyweight likely leaves Stipe on the outside looking in in terms of another immediate title shot. Francis is interested in getting right back in the Octagon this summer, while an Instagram post from Miocic on Monday suggested he plans to take some time off.
Rematch against Ngannou scheduled
Miocic will look to defend his heavyweight title in a rematch against Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 on March 27, MMAJunkie.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Miocic beat Ngannou by unanimous decision back in January of 2018. That was part of a stretch in which Miocic has won eight of nine fights, with the only setback being a first-round knockout loss against Daniel Cormier in July of 2018. That loss cost him the title belt, though he won it right back by beating Cormier via a fourth-round TKO in his next fight. On Ngannou's part, his loss in his previous match against Miocic is one of just two defeats in his 12-fight UFC career. He'll enter the rematch on the back of a four-fight winning streak, taking a total of 2:42 to earn those wins.
Miocic beat Ngannou by unanimous decision back in January of 2018. That was part of a stretch in which Miocic has won eight of nine fights, with the only setback being a first-round knockout loss against Daniel Cormier in July of 2018. That loss cost him the title belt, though he won it right back by beating Cormier via a fourth-round TKO in his next fight. On Ngannou's part, his loss in his previous match against Miocic is one of just two defeats in his 12-fight UFC career. He'll enter the rematch on the back of a four-fight winning streak, taking a total of 2:42 to earn those wins.
Remains heavyweight king
Miocic retained his UFC Heavyweight Championship on Saturday, defeating Daniel Cormier via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) at UFC 252 in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
This was a true back-and-forth affair. It didn't start well for Stipe. He appeared to drop Round 1 and allowed Cormier to set the pace. Miocic didn't look great for a good portion of Round 2, either, until he dropped DC with one big shot late in the frame that likely stole him the round. He was in a dominant position and may have very well earned a stoppage had Cormier not been saved by the bell. It was by far the biggest moment of the fight. Aided by a vicious accidental eye poke that referee Marc Goddard did not see, Stipe appeared to widen the gap between the two men in Round 3. DC responded with a competitive Round 4 before Stipe regained the momentum for the vast majority of Round 5. Miocic entered in arguably the best shape of his career, and that cardio was on full display in the final frame when he appeared to be the fresher fighter. DC's eye injury played a major factor in this fight, but Stipe went out and did what he had to do. The rumors of a potential Miocic v. Jon Jones super fight won't go away, but the overwhelming likelihood is that Stipe's next title defense will come against the wrecking ball that is Francis Ngannou. Miocic successfully defended his title against Ngannou back in January 2018, winning via unanimous decision. That being said, Ngannou is a different fighter now. No fighter in the sport hits harder. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Stipe finds himself a betting underdog if that fight gets made.
This was a true back-and-forth affair. It didn't start well for Stipe. He appeared to drop Round 1 and allowed Cormier to set the pace. Miocic didn't look great for a good portion of Round 2, either, until he dropped DC with one big shot late in the frame that likely stole him the round. He was in a dominant position and may have very well earned a stoppage had Cormier not been saved by the bell. It was by far the biggest moment of the fight. Aided by a vicious accidental eye poke that referee Marc Goddard did not see, Stipe appeared to widen the gap between the two men in Round 3. DC responded with a competitive Round 4 before Stipe regained the momentum for the vast majority of Round 5. Miocic entered in arguably the best shape of his career, and that cardio was on full display in the final frame when he appeared to be the fresher fighter. DC's eye injury played a major factor in this fight, but Stipe went out and did what he had to do. The rumors of a potential Miocic v. Jon Jones super fight won't go away, but the overwhelming likelihood is that Stipe's next title defense will come against the wrecking ball that is Francis Ngannou. Miocic successfully defended his title against Ngannou back in January 2018, winning via unanimous decision. That being said, Ngannou is a different fighter now. No fighter in the sport hits harder. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Stipe finds himself a betting underdog if that fight gets made.
Cormier rematch date set
Miocic will fight Daniel Cormier for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 252 on Aug. 15 in Las Vegas, Ariel Helwani of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS
This will be the third bout between the two heavyweights. Miocic suffered a torn retina in his win over Cormier last August and is cleared to fight, but admitted in April that he still deals with some issues resulting from that injury. Despite the potential vision issue, he still came out victorious in that bout, using body shots to his advantage to earn the TKO victory in the fourth round. He racked up 123 significant strikes in that matchup, but also allowed his opponent to land 181, suggesting this could be a fantasy-friendly fight if it gets past the initial rounds. Miocic is currently a slight betting favorite of roughly (-120) at the time of the fight announcement, which is an improvement from when he closed as a slight underdog the last time around.
This will be the third bout between the two heavyweights. Miocic suffered a torn retina in his win over Cormier last August and is cleared to fight, but admitted in April that he still deals with some issues resulting from that injury. Despite the potential vision issue, he still came out victorious in that bout, using body shots to his advantage to earn the TKO victory in the fourth round. He racked up 123 significant strikes in that matchup, but also allowed his opponent to land 181, suggesting this could be a fantasy-friendly fight if it gets past the initial rounds. Miocic is currently a slight betting favorite of roughly (-120) at the time of the fight announcement, which is an improvement from when he closed as a slight underdog the last time around.