Last month at UFC 260, the heavyweight championship was on the line. The greatest heavyweight champion in the promotion’s history, Stipe Miocic (20-4), was defending his title against Francis Ngannou (16-3).
The fight was a rematch from two years prior. In the first fight, Miocic dominated to retain his UFC heavyweight title. However, the second fight couldn’t have been more different.
Ngannou completely rushed the first fight and gassed himself out. The methodical Miocic paced himself and ended up dominating an exhausted Ngannou. In the second fight, Ngannou was very patient even when he hurt Miocic.
A big flurry in the second round sat Miocic down. He got back up to a swarming Ngannou. Miocic landed a beautiful step back right hand which appeared to stun Ngannou for just a second. This moment was the downfall of Stipe Miocic at UFC 260.
Thinking he had Ngannou hurt, Miocic rushed right into a left hook. The hook completely turned the lights out and Ngannou was crowned the heavyweight champion of the world.
Many were left wondering what would be next for Stipe Miocic after UFC 260. The man has nothing left to prove and he has another baby on the way. Many wondered if he would walk away from the sport.
However, Miocic was just interviewed on The Pat McAfee show, and he’s not planning on walking away. In fact, it’s bulking season for Miocic who is fully planning on completing the trilogy with the new UFC heavyweight champion.
Miocic wants his UFC title back
The former UFC heavyweight champion told McAfee, “I want to get back what’s mine. It’s bulking season. I’m gonna eat as much as I can and get big and strong… I’m trying to get to like, 250. I made 230 last time, not because I tried, but because of training. I’m really going to stick to really trying to gain a little bit of weight, a little bit more mass. I felt good but I think 20 pounds will help.”
While Miocic certainly isn’t small for a UFC heavyweight he was much smaller than Ngannou. Miocic appears to be taking the same strategy Frank Mir took after he lost to Brock Lesnar at UFC 100.
Mir realized he couldn’t defeat the size of Lesnar so he decided to bulk up and he went from 240 to 265. Now, Miocic is of course hoping his journey ends better than Mir’s did.
Miocic is still planning on taking time off to enjoy the birth of his son and spend time with family. Ngannou has his hands full with either Jon Jones or Derrick Lewis next so there’s no need to rush if you’re the former UFC champion.
But, make no mistake about it, Stipe Miocic isn’t going away. The greatest heavyweight of all time is planning on one more run to get back the title that he loves so much.