The most accomplished UFC Heavyweight Champion, Stipe Miocic has yet to fight a single fight since his last loss against Francis Ngannou and he might need to wait a bit more since Ciryl Gane will fight for the title as Gane recently won the interim heavyweight title. Another fighter Jones might fight next, who knows?
Many consider Miocic as the greatest heavyweight of all time, at least for now since he holds the record for most consecutive title defenses, and not only that he also avenged his loss, making him a two-time champion. Stipe was an underdog most of his career, and yet always finds a way to gets his hands raised.
The sad reality with Miocic is, despite being the baddest man on the planet during his time, he was not a draw. He had issues with the UFC, not marketing him enough even though he was also a firefighter. In his first fight against Ngannou, he even complained that Ngannou was promoted more than him and it did not sit well with him since he was the champion during that time.
Stipe Miocic is also the first person to give Ngannou a UFC loss. During the rise of Ngannou, he was already marketed as the next heavyweight champion since he pretty much had many similarities with a young Mike Tyson. Ngannou finished guys early left and right, it was crazy to watch.
After Ngannou’s knockout win against Overeem, many were already saying that Miocic is getting scared of facing Ngannou but that was not certainly the case. Miocic accepted the challenge and dominated Ngannou, all 5 rounds. Miocic may have had a busted face after the fight but in terms of winning the rounds, it was pretty much one-sided.
Miocic then challenged then UFC light-heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier. In the fight, it was close until Cormier somehow landed a surprising shot that knocked Miocic out cold. He demanded a rematch since he was the record holder for most defenses in the division.
The UFC wouldn’t grant it at first but eventually gave him the fight. The rematch was pretty much DC winning the early parts of the fight until Miocic changed his strategy and went to the body more. It then led to a knockout win. Miocic became a two-time heavyweight champion.
The trilogy was then booked, Miocic won via unanimous decision. It ended the chapter of Miocic vs Cormier, with Miocic getting the better of the rivalry.
It was time for Miocic to move on and defend his belt and it so happens that Ngannou was cleaning out the division as well. The rematch was also booked and Ngannou improved tremendously since their first encounter. Ngannou had better fundamentals, wrestling, and even had better composure.
Another factor would have to be Miocic’s age, father time may have caught up to him. It is not easy to stay in prime shape after fighting for trilogy war against Daniel Cormier and not just that but he is already 39 years old. Miocic may decide to compete once more but it will not be easy since he is facing young hungry lions that are still in their best years. Gane, Ngannou are improving as days goes on, could he somehow defy the odds like he did in the past?
