UFC 260 highlights and results: Stipe Miocic is knocked out by Francis Ngannou to win the heavyweight championship.
In the rematch on Saturday, Ngannou easily dispatched the most experienced heavyweight in UFC history.
At UFC 220, Francis Ngannou’s first attempt at Stipe Miocic and the UFC heavyweight championship fell short. In the main event of UFC 260, Ngannou proved that he had risen to the top of the heavyweight division by knocking out Miocic in the second round with a vicious sequence of strikes to win heavyweight gold.
In the first round, Ngannou smashed Miocic several times, landing huge punches that Miocic absorbed while appearing unaffected. Rather than panicking, Ngannou charged forward to the second round, landing a major jab that knocked Miocic to the ground. At the 52 second mark of Round 2, a crushing left hook sent Miocic to the canvas, and a follow-up hammerfist on the ground knocked him out cold.
The final sequence seemed to take a sharp left turn. As Ngannou tried to counter the jab that had shocked Miocic, Miocic landed a powerful counter punch that appeared to knock Ngannou out. As Miocic attempted to charge forward, Ngannou landed a vicious hook, sending Miocic stumbling backwards with his leg bent at an awkward angle, setting up the finish.
“He made the mistake of following me,” Ngannou said of the final series. “Maybe he thought I was injured or something.” “That’s when I finally caught up with him. We’ve been working on everything and putting in a lot of effort. We’ve been working on those stuff every day. Instead of running out and rushing, I learned to relax and get the most out of myself by working every day.”
After the fight, Ngannou talked about the learning experience that was his first fight with Miocic, a fight that Miocic won by breaking Ngannou down with strong grappling. In the first round, Ngannou sprawled to defend a Miocic takedown attempt, pivoting to Miocic’s back and landing a series of hard punches.
“It was the most important night of my life,” Ngannou said. “It might sound strange to say, but I knew I wasn’t going to lose that fight because of the way I gained experience and learned about mixed martial arts and how to handle a fight. The fight resulted in a fantastic result for me. The battle provided me with a significant advantage, and I believe that benefit moved me forward.”
Ngannou is on a five-fight winning streak, all by knockout, and may face Jon Jones, the former light heavyweight champion who is making his heavyweight debut. Jones initially tweeted after the war, “Let’s play boy.” He then removed the tweet and replaced it with one that was more direct. “Show me the money,” says the narrator.
Ngannou responded to Jones’s possible challenge right after his victory, saying he’d be ready for the fight in no time.
“In my view, Jon Jones is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time,” Ngannou said. “It would be beneficial for him to advance. He’s a challenge I’m up for, and it’ll look great on my resume. This time, though, he will be the challenger, and I will be the champion. He’s on his way up to meet me. In July or August, I’ll be ready to fight.”
On Saturday, CBS Sports was there for you the whole time, showing you all the news and highlights from UFC 260.
The UFC 260 card and results are now available.
- Francis Ngannou (c) defeated Stipe Miocic (c) by TKO in the second round (punches)
- Tyron Woodley was submitted in the first round by Vicente Luque (D’Arce choke).
- Thomas Almeida was knocked out in the third round by Sean O’Malley (punch)
- Miranda Maverick wins a majority decision over Gillian Robertson (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Jamie Mullarkey knocked out Khama Worthy in the first round (punch)
- Fabio Cherant was submitted in the first round by Alonzo Menifield (von Flue choke)
- Jared Gooden is defeated by Abubakar Nurmagomedov in a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Modestas Bukauskas is defeated by Micha Oleksiejczuk in a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Omar Morales wins a majority decision over Shane Young (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Abu Azaitar was defeated by Marc-Andre Barriault via third-round TKO (punches)
