Miocic unfazed by Ngannou's KO power ahead of UFC 220
Stipe Miocic may not be overlooking Francis Ngannou, but that doesn't mean he fears him.
Speaking with FloCombat's Damon Martin ahead of his heavyweight title defense against Ngannou at UFC 220, the reigning champ acknowledged the challenger's highly-touted punching power was nothing to sneeze at, but deemed him another mere mortal vying for his gold.
"He's tough, he's big, strong, hits hard but he's just another dude," Miocic said. "That's what it is."
Ngannou's meteoric rise includes first-round knockouts of Andrei Arlovski and most recently, Alistair Overeem, but as Miocic told Martin, the streaking Cameroonian won't be the first fearsome hitter to have shared the cage with him. A lethal puncher himself, the defending champ heads into the tilt on a five-fight knockout streak, with all but one coming in the first round.
"You're telling me Mark Hunt doesn't hit that hard? Or Roy Nelson? Or Junior dos Santos? Come on. He hits hard and definitely if you get hit square like that (it's bad news), but I'm definitely going to keep my head up, keep my head on a swivel, and make sure I'm doing everything right."
The challenger - whose terrifying exploits in the Octagon have made him the matchup's betting favorite - treated an unfazed Miocic to some ominous threats at the recent prefight presser, and while his mitts can send most men to the shadow realm, the divisional ruler remains intent on claiming a UFC heavyweight record of three consecutive title defenses come fight night.
"I was there so I don't get fined," Miocic joked. "Let him do what he wants. He's doing well. He's doing something right, he's fighting for the title.
"But like I said, as long as I'm here, nobody else is getting that belt. I worked way too hard to give it up. I sacrificed way too much to give it up. Unfortunately, as long as I'm here, no one's getting that belt."
Miocic meets Ngannou in UFC 220's main event on Jan. 20 in Boston.