MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a deeper look at the main event of UFC 260, a five-round UFC heavyweight title bout between champion Stipe Miocic and challenger Francis Ngannou. The event takes place on Saturday, March 27 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Francis Ngannou (-120)
Ngannou (15-3) is the No. 1 contender in the UFC heavyweight division. The 34-year-old Cameroon native is 10-2 overall in the UFC with notable wins over Alistair Overeem, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Curtis Blaydes, Junior dos Santos, and Cain Velasquez. Ever since he first stepped foot into the Octagon it was clear that Ngannou was a special talent. Physically, he’s one of the strongest fighters that we’ve ever seen in the sport and he has backed that up with a number of highlight-reel KOs. Just touching someone’s chin with his massive fists can send them to la-la land. However, we did see some weaknesses in Ngannou’s game during the first fight with Miocic three years ago. He was outboxed in the fight, taken down to the mat, and ground out for 25 minutes. But after winning his last four fights by first-round KO, the UFC is giving him a chance to redeem himself against Miocic.
Stipe Miocic (+100)
Miocic (20-3) is the UFC heavyweight champion. The 38-year-old American has been in the UFC since 2011 and has racked up a fantastic 14-3 record since then, with quality wins over the likes of Ngannou, Daniel Cormier, Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, and Mark Hunt. Miocic has the most successful heavyweight title defenses in UFC and the reason is that he’s so well-rounded for the division. On the feet, Miocic is a technician with his boxing and he has plenty of KO power. On the ground, he has strong wrestling and the ability to control his opponents and pound them out. He also has great cardio and has proven he can go 25 hard minutes. The only flaw that Miocic has shown in the UFC is his striking defense, as he gets hit too much, and it’s resulted in knockout losses to Cormier and to Stefan Struve. As far as his skills go, Miocic is as good as it gets in the heavyweight division. But we all know that it only takes one punch to end a heavyweight fight.
Fight Breakdown: This fight goes one of two ways. Either Ngannou scores a first- or second-round knockout or he loses the fight. I really think that’s what it comes down to. We all saw how the first fight played out, but I don’t think the rematch is as easy as looking at that fight and assuming everything is equal three years later. For one, I believe Ngannou’s defensive wrestling has improved enough where he shouldn’t be easy to take down. Two, I don’t think Ngannou came into that fight with the right head. I feel like he’s worked hard on the mental game and we’ve seen the killer that he truly is the last four fights. And three, I feel like Miocic has taken a lot of damage since the first Ngannou fight and we might see signs of him slowing down here. He was 35 then, now he’s 38, and that’s a big difference. Ngannou, meanwhile, was 31 but still somewhat green the first time he fought for the belt. Three years later I’m expecting to see a hungrier version of Ngannou and someone who will be more focused and prepared for this rematch with Miocic. All signs are pointing to a first-round KO for Ngannou, in my opinion. I don’t think anyone in the division except for maybe Jon Jones is going to be able to stand and trade with Ngannou, and I think he finishes Miocic early to win the title.
Prediction: Francis Ngannou
