Stipe Miocic respects the point Francis Ngannou was trying to prove with his years-long battle with the UFC. It’s not surprising that things turned out as they did.
“I get it,” Miocic said recently on The MMA Hour. It’s likely to take a while before anything like that occurs. [Ngannou was] Trying to move [the sport] the right way is great but it’s not going to happen .”
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After a long contractual dispute,
Ngannou ended his relationship with UFC in January. This was the first UFC champion who resigned midway through an era of more than 10 years. “The Predator,” MMA Fighting reported that he requested several concessions beyond the normal framework of a UFC contract. These included health insurance for all UFC fighters and the right to pursue his own intra-cage sponsorships. He also asked for an advocate for UFC athletes at the company’s board meetings. He said UFC officials balked at his requests and focused solely on luring him back with more money, which didn’t work.
It was a bittersweet turn of events for Miocic. The former two-time heavyweight champion has dealt with his own roller-coaster relationship with the UFC behind-the-scenes over the years, so he’s more intimately familiar than most with the frustrations Ngannou felt. That’s why he doesn’t fault Ngannou for making the choice he did. He simply wishes the two would’ve had a chance to settle their rivalry with a trilogy bout before Ngannou left.
“I would’ve loved to have fought Francis again, but it’s not going to happen,” Miocic said.
“Listen. It’s up to him. I wish he would’ve stayed because I wanted another crack at him. Unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way, but listen, he’s doing what’s best for him and his family. He thinks it’s the right way to go, and it’s his decision. He deserves nothing less than the best, and it will work .”
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Miocic, 40, said a rubber match with Ngannou is the fight he wanted most with the time he has left in his career. Their series is currently tied at one win apiece, with Miocic winning their first meeting in 2018 via unanimous decision, and Ngannou winning the rematch with a brutal second-round knockout in 2021. With Ngannou out of the picture, Miocic is now hoping to fight the winner of UFC 285’s main event — Ciryl Gane vs. Jon Jones — for the heavyweight belt, but he admitted that even an opportunity against an all-time great like Jones pales in comparison how he would’ve felt about getting a third crack at Ngannou.
That being said, he’s more than willing to consider the Gane vs. Jones winner to be the rightful new heir to the UFC’s heavyweight throne.
“[Ngannou] is gone,” Miocic said. “So whoever has that belt is the champ.”
As for Ngannou’s next step, “The Predator” hasn’t wavered in his desire to box now that he’s finally a free agent. Tyson Fury, heavyweight boxing champ, has called for an epic match between Ngannou and Fury in a box with boxing rules and four-ounce gloves. Fury recommended Mike Tyson to be the referee.
Whether a mega-event like that actually comes to fruition is still up in the air, but Miocic is no stranger to the sweet science himself — Miocic is a former Cleveland Golden Gloves boxing champion. Miocic would be thrilled if Ngannou and he ever get a chance at a rubber match in a boxing ring instead of an MMA cage.
” That’d be amazing [to box Ngannou],” Miocic stated. “Hell yeah, I love boxing.”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/1/29/23573006/stipe-miocic-gets-why-francis-ngannou-left-ufc-but-its-going-to-be-a-long-time-before-the-change?rand=96749
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