Stipe Miocic
USA
Announces retirement after defeat
Miocic came up short in his quest to regain the UFC Heavyweight Championship on Saturday, falling to Jon Jones via TKO (strikes) at 4:29 of Round 3 at UFC 309 in New York City.
ANALYSIS
Stipe announced his retirement in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan and seemed quite definitive about it. Miocic turned 42 years of age in August. He hadn't fought since March 2021 and hadn't fought in front of fans since August 2019. We probably shouldn't be surprised that Stipe looked out of sorts from the very start and was unable to get anything going. He spent the entire fight defending. On the rare instances in which Miocic fired off punches, he was one-and-done. His corner was screaming at him to string together combinations, but Stipe either couldn't or wouldn't do so. He was lucky to last as long as he did, quite frankly. One of the most decorated heavyweights of all time and a future Hall of Famer, Miocic closes his UFC run with a 14-5 record. He racked up victories over the likes of Daniel Cormier (twice), Francis Ngannou, Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum and Andrei Arlovski. It was quite a run.
Stipe announced his retirement in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan and seemed quite definitive about it. Miocic turned 42 years of age in August. He hadn't fought since March 2021 and hadn't fought in front of fans since August 2019. We probably shouldn't be surprised that Stipe looked out of sorts from the very start and was unable to get anything going. He spent the entire fight defending. On the rare instances in which Miocic fired off punches, he was one-and-done. His corner was screaming at him to string together combinations, but Stipe either couldn't or wouldn't do so. He was lucky to last as long as he did, quite frankly. One of the most decorated heavyweights of all time and a future Hall of Famer, Miocic closes his UFC run with a 14-5 record. He racked up victories over the likes of Daniel Cormier (twice), Francis Ngannou, Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum and Andrei Arlovski. It was quite a run.
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Scheduled to fight Jon Jones
Miocic will take on Jones (pectoral) for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden, UFC chairman Dana White confirmed to Complex Sports.
ANALYSIS
Jones recovered completely from a pectoral surgery that forced him to cancel the previous bout against Jones scheduled for Nov. 11, 2023. Miocic hasn't stepped on the octagon since 2021, when he dropped the heavyweight belt following a defeat against Francis Ngannou. Miocic is already 42 years old, and there's a chance this will be his final fight as a professional regardless of the outcome. Miocic has gone 20-4-0 in his career.
Jones recovered completely from a pectoral surgery that forced him to cancel the previous bout against Jones scheduled for Nov. 11, 2023. Miocic hasn't stepped on the octagon since 2021, when he dropped the heavyweight belt following a defeat against Francis Ngannou. Miocic is already 42 years old, and there's a chance this will be his final fight as a professional regardless of the outcome. Miocic has gone 20-4-0 in his career.
Fight with Jones cancelled
Miocic is no longer scheduled to face Jon Jones in a heavyweight title fight Nov. 11 at UFC 295 in New York after Jones withdrew Tuesday due to a pectoral injury suffered while training, Shaheen Al-Shatti of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
Jones will require surgery to address the injury and is expected to require eight months to make a full recovery, meaning that Miocic will likely have to wait until the summer of 2024 to get another chance to fight Jones. Miocic will be removed from the UFC 295 card entirely, while Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich will fight instead for an interim title.
Jones will require surgery to address the injury and is expected to require eight months to make a full recovery, meaning that Miocic will likely have to wait until the summer of 2024 to get another chance to fight Jones. Miocic will be removed from the UFC 295 card entirely, while Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich will fight instead for an interim title.
Fight with Jones scheduled
Miocic will take on Jon Jones in UFC 295 on November 11 in Madison Square Garden, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Jones will be looking to defend his heavyweight title against one of the greatest of all time in Miocic. The last time Miocic competed was in March of 2021 when he fell to Francis Ngannou via KO in Round 2 of UFC 260. Both Jones and Miocic have been talking about this matchup for years, so it's nice to see that it's finally happening.
Jones will be looking to defend his heavyweight title against one of the greatest of all time in Miocic. The last time Miocic competed was in March of 2021 when he fell to Francis Ngannou via KO in Round 2 of UFC 260. Both Jones and Miocic have been talking about this matchup for years, so it's nice to see that it's finally happening.
Drops UFC Heavyweight Championship
Miocic lost his UFC Heavyweight Championship on Saturday, falling to Francis Ngannou via KO (punches) at 0:52 of Round 2 at UFC 260 in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
This certainly wasn't Miocic's best effort, but there isn't a man on earth who can touch Ngannou if he fights like he did in this one. Stipe got nothing going offensively for the entirety of the bout. He tried one takedown fairly early on and ended up receiving about a half dozen bombs to the side of his head for his effort. Miocic ate countless shots that would have fallen any mere mortal. It eventually got Stipe, too, but the fact he got out of the first round was nothing short of a miracle. This result was more about the greatness of Ngannou as opposed to anything Miocic did wrong. Stipe probably deserves an immediate rematch given how great he has been over the past several years, but this fight was extremely lopsided and the looming presence of Jon Jones' move up to heavyweight likely leaves Stipe on the outside looking in in terms of another immediate title shot. Francis is interested in getting right back in the Octagon this summer, while an Instagram post from Miocic on Monday suggested he plans to take some time off.
This certainly wasn't Miocic's best effort, but there isn't a man on earth who can touch Ngannou if he fights like he did in this one. Stipe got nothing going offensively for the entirety of the bout. He tried one takedown fairly early on and ended up receiving about a half dozen bombs to the side of his head for his effort. Miocic ate countless shots that would have fallen any mere mortal. It eventually got Stipe, too, but the fact he got out of the first round was nothing short of a miracle. This result was more about the greatness of Ngannou as opposed to anything Miocic did wrong. Stipe probably deserves an immediate rematch given how great he has been over the past several years, but this fight was extremely lopsided and the looming presence of Jon Jones' move up to heavyweight likely leaves Stipe on the outside looking in in terms of another immediate title shot. Francis is interested in getting right back in the Octagon this summer, while an Instagram post from Miocic on Monday suggested he plans to take some time off.
Rematch against Ngannou scheduled
Miocic will look to defend his heavyweight title in a rematch against Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 on March 27, MMAJunkie.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Miocic beat Ngannou by unanimous decision back in January of 2018. That was part of a stretch in which Miocic has won eight of nine fights, with the only setback being a first-round knockout loss against Daniel Cormier in July of 2018. That loss cost him the title belt, though he won it right back by beating Cormier via a fourth-round TKO in his next fight. On Ngannou's part, his loss in his previous match against Miocic is one of just two defeats in his 12-fight UFC career. He'll enter the rematch on the back of a four-fight winning streak, taking a total of 2:42 to earn those wins.
Miocic beat Ngannou by unanimous decision back in January of 2018. That was part of a stretch in which Miocic has won eight of nine fights, with the only setback being a first-round knockout loss against Daniel Cormier in July of 2018. That loss cost him the title belt, though he won it right back by beating Cormier via a fourth-round TKO in his next fight. On Ngannou's part, his loss in his previous match against Miocic is one of just two defeats in his 12-fight UFC career. He'll enter the rematch on the back of a four-fight winning streak, taking a total of 2:42 to earn those wins.