Stipe Miocic reveals plans on becoming 'everyone's worst nightmare' in an Instagram post about bulking up to 250lbs
Stipe Miocic's second title reign came to an end with a vicious knockout loss against Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021. The former champ's skill level is unparalleled in the UFC's heavyweight division. But many, including UFC commentator Jon Anik, voiced an opinion that Stipe is too small for the 265lb weight class. Miocic, surprisingly, is not ignoring the murmurs.
In a recent Instagram post, Stipe Miocic revealed his plans to bulk up to 250lbs for his next fight and become 'everyone's worst nightmare' in the heavyweight division. Miocic, who usually weighs in the 235lbs range, enjoys a speed and cardio advantage over most of his opponents in the 265lb division. However, the strength discrepancy was evident in Stipe Miocic's last fight against the bigger, stronger Francis Ngannou.
Stipe at 250 you say??? Funny you should mention... It’s bulking season son! Woke up feeling like Im about to become everyone’s worst nightmare! 🤫 Who are your picks tonight?' Stipe Miocic wrote.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) is the consensus greatest UFC heavyweight of all time. He holds the record for most title fight victories in the history of UFC's heavyweight division at 6. Although size plays a major role when highly trained individuals compete within a set of rules, the equation changes at heavyweight.
Important attributes like cardio, movement, and speed usually start fading away for athletes that are massive in size. Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier, and Junior Dos Santos are some of the fighters that were relatively small heavyweights that got the better of their bigger opponents due to attributes other than power and size. Whether the added mass helps Miocic or proves detrimental to his performance will be interesting to see.
Stipe Miocic is not delusional about his title loss to Francis Ngannou
Stipe Miocic executed a perfect game plan to defeat a wild and reckless Francis Ngannou in their first fight in 2018. However, Miocic could not recreate his success in the March 2021 rematch. It's not uncommon for dominant champions to resort to excuses after a difficult loss. However, Stipe Miocic gave Francis Ngannou credit where it was due and owned up to his in-fight mistakes in a lengthy Instagram post soon after the loss:
'Unfortunately, I deviated from game plan. I felt great coming into the second round, I saw it was beginning to go as planned. He was getting very winded, and I came in over zealous and unprotected. I wasn’t in a good posture to take the hit. He saw the opening, and did what any great fighter would have done. That was my error that I accept, it wont happen again,' Stipe Miocic wrote.