Ngannou KOs Miocic to win UFC heavyweight title
The Francis Ngannou era has begun.
Ngannou knocked out Stipe Miocic at 0:52 of the second round in the UFC 260 main event to capture the heavyweight title Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Ngannou stunned Miocic with a left jab early in the frame and then attacked him with a barrage of strikes. Miocic tagged Ngannou during the exchange but Ngannou dropped him with a left hand and followed up with a huge right on the ground before the referee could intervene.
"I don't know if I can find the vocabulary to express this, but it feels so amazing," Ngannou said in his postfight interview.
This was the second time Ngannou challenged for the heavyweight belt. He suffered a one-sided loss to Miocic at UFC 220 in January 2018 but successfully avenged that defeat in Saturday's rematch.
Ngannou appeared much improved from the first bout against Miocic when he gassed out and failed to keep the fight on the feet. On Saturday, Ngannou was composed in the stand-up department and stuffed Miocic's takedown attempt in the first round.
"I have a great outcome from (the first fight with Miocic). ... It was a great benefit from that fight," Ngannou said. "I believe that benefit rose me higher."
In the first round, Ngannou landed a flurry of punches on the ground after defending Miocic's takedown attempt. Miocic seemed to be hurt but quickly returned to his feet and got out of danger. Although Miocic landed a few leg kicks throughout the opening frame, he was tentative overall.
Ngannou extended his winning streak to five with the victory over Miocic. He defeated former champions Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, as well as top contenders Curtis Blaydes and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, to earn a second shot at the championship.
Miocic, widely considered the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time, defended the title a record four times across his two reigns. This was his first loss since he lost the belt during his first reign to Daniel Cormier in July 2018. Miocic entered the Ngannou rematch with two straight wins, both of which came against Cormier in 2019 and 2020.