Cameroonian Francis Ngannuo has achieved a life-long dream of his after he defeated Stipe Miocic to win the UFC heavyweight title.
Both fighters met in 2018 where Ngannuo was also a contender for the belt but Miocic was able to hold on to the belt for longer after winning the fight by unanimous decision. But at UFC 260, Ngannuo needed less than a minute in the second round to win the belt as he knocked out Miocic with a straight punch, ending everything with a hammer fist. This marks his fifth-straight win and also his first fight to enter the second round out of his past five fights.
Ngannuo gave Miocic a hard time from the first round as he started things with a low kick. But Miocic was quite resilient, taking three jabs without much of a fuss. Ngannuo managed to drag Miocic to the floor, punching him all the way. Miocic struggled to break free but Ngannuo was not done with him yet as he continued to use his legs to deal with Miocic before the round came to an end.
The second round finished before it even started. Ngannuo began with his leg attacks before dropping Miocic with a left hand. Miocic stood up and came charging forward until he was dropped by another left hand which was closely followed with a hammer fist, which did the ultimate damage as Miocic never recovered from that one. The fight came to an end at 0:52 of Round Two.
For Ngannuo, it is not just the victory but the revenge after losing to Miocic more than 3 years ago. Currently the man with the hardest punch in his division, Ngannuo has done well for himself by winning the UFC Heavyweight title. Speaking after the fight, he said, “I don’t know if I can find the vocabulary to express this, but it feels so amazing. Even though I’ve been winning fights, I had this thing inside of me that I never released. It was like a promise that I made to myself since I was young. To prove the doubters and the people that thought I was beneath them that it wasn’t my fault. If I ever had the opportunity, I would do great and even greater and that’s what I’m here for.”
Now, Ngannuo has his eyes on the former light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones. He also said that although he was not interested in a trilogy fight against Miocic, it is something he would do if he was offered.
Written by: Leon Osamor
