CLEVELAND -- UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and top-ranked contender Francis Ngannou are no strangers to finishing fights in The Octagon, and that is why they are on a collision course to meet in the main event of UFC 220 at TD Garden in Boston tonight.
And those who know the fight game well believe there will be fireworks a plenty when Miocic puts his title on the line against Ngannou.
“Somebody’s going to sleep, and I’m just excited I get to be in the building and watch it,” said light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, who will put his title on the line against Volkan Oezdemir in the co-main event in Boston.
Miocic avenged one of only two losses on his professional record with a knockout of Junior dos Santos at the 2:24 mark of the first round in the main event of UFC 211: Miocic vs. Dos Santos 2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on May 13, 2017.
Miocic finished off his fifth straight knockout victory by backing up dos Santos against the cage and flooring him with a right hand to the head.
After dos Santos fell to the canvas, Miocic swarmed the former champion and threw more than a dozen left-handed punches through the guard, and when those strikes went unanswered, referee Herb Dean called a stop to the bout.
“I hope Francis doesn’t decide to smack me, but I think the closest thing I can relate it to is when Anthony Johnson was just killing everybody, and everybody thought he was just going to blast right through me,” Cormier said at the ore-fight press conference. “I was always like, ‘Oh, it’s fine. I’ll be okay,’ and I think that’s what Stipe Miocic is feeling right now.
“You’ve got a scary guy in Francis Ngannou, who hits harder than anybody we’ve ever seen, and you’ve got a guy on the cusp of becoming the greatest UFC heavyweight champion of all time. That’s what’s being missed in this. Stipe Miocic has won and defended this belt twice. If he wins again, he’s the most successful heavyweight champion we’ve ever seen, and don’t forget, he’s got five knockouts in a row himself.”
Miocic has earned five straight victories via knockout, and is one win away from setting the UFC’s record for the most consecutive title defenses by a heavyweight.
Including the redemption win over dos Santos, Miocic has finished off 14 opponents, all by knockout or TKO. With the win over dos Santos, Miocic improved to 17-2 in his professional career, and 11-2 in his 13 bouts under the UFC banner, and yet, he will be the underdog against Ngannou.
In the co-main event of UFC 218 at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit on December 2, Ngannou earned a vicious first-round knockout of former top contender Alistair Overeem with a left hook that landed flush on the jaw.
“Francis Ngannou has the world record for the most powerful punch,” UFC president Dana White said. “His punch is the equivalent to 96 horsepower, which is equal to getting hit by a Ford Escort going as fast as it can. It’s more powerful that a 12-pound sledgehammer swung full force from overhead. Holy &*$%!”
As for the hype behind Ngannou heading into the bout, Miocic is focused only on what needs to be done to retain the UFC heavyweight championship.
“I’m a Midwest dude,” Miocic said. “I don’t need all the hoopla. He deserves it. He’s a big, strong, tough dude, hits hard. What kind of car was it? A Ford Escort as fast as it can, that’s pretty powerful. I’m probably a little bug or something, I don’t know. Good for him. Let him get all the hype he wants. I do what I do, and I’m going to keep winning.”
