Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Francis Ngannou has said that current UFC heavyweight champion of the world Stipe Miocic is holding up the division for a long time.
The pair previously fought at UFC 220 back in January 2018 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusets. In that fight, Stipe Miocic dominated throughout the five-round and ultimately defeated him via unanimous decision.
Almost three years later, Francis Ngannou and Stipe Miocic have come at a crossroads. Francis is on the verge of a title shot after successfully knocking out Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos and Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the first round. However, the former title challenger is frustrated as according to him, the current champion Stipe Miocic has been holding up the division.
Following his win over Ngannou in 2018, Miocic fought Daniel Cormier at UFC 226. In that fight, Cormier knocked out Miocic in the first round. After this, the pair involved themselves in a trilogy bout, with Mocic winning the remaining two fights at UFC 241 and UFC 252 respectively.
Francis Ngannou is tired of waiting
Francis Ngannou last fought in May at UFC 249 and now in an interview has said that he has been tired of waiting, even though there’s a high chance that Ngannou is the front runner to face Miocic for the title.
“It’s been a lifetime [since I last fought],” Ngannou told MMA Fighting. “It’s still kind of like frustrating even though I’m trying to take it out of my mind knowing that I can’t do nothing to change it. Even before fighting [Rozenstruik] in May, I’ve been through this same story, this same situation and it got me ready to face it again. I was waiting for Stipe and D.C., who was in August and obviously I was expecting something in December. That’s why after their fight, I just came back from Cameroon expecting maybe sometime in December because it’s four months away, or maybe January at the latest, I might have a fight.
“Obviously, now I don’t know. What I know, they just said March but it’s not official. Who knows. Who knows how that will play out.
“My only thing with that trilogy is that [Stipe] has been holding the heavyweight division up for a long time,” Francis Ngannou continued. “There hasn’t been a title fight in this division for two years except for those between Stipe and D.C. and other than that there hasn’t been a fight with contenders, which is what contenders fight for. To fight for the title but there is no title going on in this division. I don’t how long that is going to last. I’m sure it’s not just me saying that. Other contenders who also feel the same way because if there’s not a title fight, contenders they’re not moving on. They’re just fighting without purpose. Without a real goal.”
Do you guys think Stipe Miocic is holding out the division? Let us know in the comments section below.
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