'He's very tough, we give him credit for that' - Francis Ngannou reveals if he landed a clean shot on Stipe Miocic during their first fight
Ahead of his title fight at UFC 260, Francis Ngannou has given credit to Stipe Miocic for taking some of the hardest shots the former has landed on an opponent. However, The Predator believes that during his first fight with Miocic, he couldn't connect with a single clean shot.
During his interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto, Francis Ngannou spoke about his previous battle against Miocic and claimed he couldn't land a clean punch on the reigning heavyweight champion. Ngannou also gave props to Miocic for managing to tackle some of the former's shots that have taken people down in the past.
"I don't know, I can't talk about that but I know for sure he's very tough. We give him credit for that but I don't think I connect a clean shot. Probably some shot that has took some people down and he managed that very well but you know, that shouldn't be a problem. I should've been going there counting on taking on one shot, you know, most of the time, they just break people down with multiple shots. Be able to deliver as much as needed and at the end when you get breakdown maybe the last shots come at some point."
At UFC 220 in 2018, Stipe Miocic completely dominated Francis Ngannou in their title fight. Despite Ngannou managing to hit the champion with a few solid shots, the former couldn't replicate his thrilling knockouts from the past. Miocic walked out with the UFC heavyweight title after 25 minutes of dominance.
However, since his first loss to Miocic, The Predator has beaten Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos and knocked out Jairzinho Rozenstruik in his last fight inside 20 seconds.
Francis Ngannou will get another crack at the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 260
This Saturday at UFC 260 at the APEX, Francis Ngannou will challenge Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title for the second time. The reigning champion will be heading into the fight on the back of a win over Daniel Cormier and will look to add another big win to his impressive resume.