- Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou go to war for the heavyweight title at UFC 260
- Reigning champion Miocic came out on top via unanimous decision when the pair first met back in 2018
Described as the ‘Biggest Baddest Rematch’, Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou will clash in a highly anticipated heavyweight fight at UFC 260.
Reigning champion Miocic got the better of his challenger when the two clashed back in 2018 – winning by unanimous decision.
The challenger, Ngannou, admitted recently in a press conference that he finds it difficult to watch back the loss to Miocic.
‘I’m not taking credit off Stipe, he was the better fighter that night but I hate watching that fight because I don’t recognise myself, the way that I’m fighting, I’m rushing,’ said the 34-year old Cameroonian.
After following up the defeat by Miocic with a dreadfully trigger-shy defeat by Derrick Lewis, Ngannou went on the rampage, winning his next four fights by first-round KO – knocked out Curtis Blayes, Junior dos Santos, Cain Velazquez and Jairzinho Rozenstruik – which confirmed his second shot at Miocic.
But the champion, who has since underlined his status as the best heavyweight of all time, underlined his credentials with a trilogy win against Daniel Cormier.
He believes he will ‘extinguish’ Ngannou for a second time on Saturday.
The champion said:
‘He’s definitely got better, we all evolve, he’s evolved and of course I knew I’d probably see him down the road after the first fight.
‘Listen, it will be a hell of a fight on Saturday. He has evolved you can tell, but I’m here to extinguish him again.’
For the Baddest on the ?!
? @StipeMiocic vs ?? @Francis_Ngannou 2
[ #UFC260 LIVE on #ESPNPlus PPV: https://t.co/4v1XFz4qub ] pic.twitter.com/gdi1nhA9r9
— UFC (@ufc) March 25, 2021
Weights
Ngannou tipped the scales at 263 pounds, the same weight as last time, when he was roundly beaten on the scorecards back in 2018.
Miocic is one pound heavier than the first encounter (234-pounds) but remains the lighter man.
Time
The highly anticipated showdown between Miocic and Ngannou takes place in the early hours of Sunday, March 27 at the Apex in Las Vegas.