Last Saturday at UFC 260, Stipe Miocic (20-4) was looking to defend his heavyweight title against Francis Ngannou (16-3). The fight was a rematch from their first matchup back in 2019 where Miocic dominated the fight.
In the first fight, Miocic was able to use his cleaner striking technique and wrestling to win the matchup. However, the word had been that Ngannou had closed the gaps in those areas over the last couple of years.
UFC 260 was going to be a test for both men. Would Ngannou be able to close the gap and beat the best heavyweight in UFC history? Would Miocic be able to take the same shots he did in the first fight?
Well, on Saturday night we got our answer. Stipe Miocic really wasn’t able to get going at all on Saturday night. Francis Ngannou was patient and showed off his good striking technique with unbelievable power.
Miocic went for a takedown halfway through the round and Ngannou sprawled beautifully. Ngannou then took the back of Miocic and hit him with some bombs. In the second round, Ngannou dropped Miocic with a big straight left hand.
One of the premier shots for Stipe Miocic is his pull back right hand. It’s the punch that made him a UFC champion. After Ngannou dropped him, Miocic got up and landed his right hand flush. The problem was that he thought Ngannou was more hurt than he was.
Miocic rushed in thinking it was a golden opportunity and was caught with a short left hook from Ngannou. That left hook put him out cold and crowned Francis Ngannou the new UFC heavyweight champion.
What’s next for Stipe Miocic after UFC 260?
Stipe Miocic was knocked out by Daniel Cormier, but this one felt so much worse. We all know the power Ngannou has and Stipe was knocked stiff by The Predator. On top of that, Miocic absorbed a massive hammer fist after the knockout shot landed.
With his UFC title reign over, what’s next for Stipe Miocic? Right now, I think Stipe just needs to take some time off. His wife is going to give birth to their first son over the summer and that needs to be his focus.
With the UFC 260 knockout, he needs to give him brain time to recover as well. In his last five fights against Daniel Cormier and Francis Ngannou, Stipe has been knocked out twice and in the other fights he’s absorbed massive shots.
He took to Instagram this week and didn’t sound like someone who was ready to hang it up. However, there’s a lot going on in the title picture at heavyweight and I think Stipe Miocic just needs to sit back and watch it play out.
The former UFC heavyweight champion should target a return in early 2022. He should come back for one more shot at the heavyweight title and walk away regardless of the result just like Daniel Cormier did at UFC 252.