LAS VEGAS – Francis Ngannou doesn’t think he’s the same fighter who lost to Stipe Miocic more than three years ago at UFC 220.
In fact, as he watched fight tape from their first meeting in 2018 in preparation for their rematch Saturday at UFC 260, Ngannou (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) didn’t even recognize himself.
“Honestly, I’m not taking credit off Stipe,” Ngannou told MMA Junkie at a pre-fight news conference Thursday. “He was the better fighter that night. But when I look at that fight, I hate watching that fight because I don’t recognize myself. Even the way that I’m fighting and the way that I’m rushing, that guy looked like me – but I don’t recognize that style.”
Mistakes weren’t just made in the cage, but in the preparation for the fight, too, Ngannou said. Mentally and physically, Ngannou said he should’ve done things differently, as evidenced by the unanimous decision loss.
“I did a lot of mistakes leading up to that fight,” Ngannou said. “I wasn’t even there myself. I didn’t even have emotion in that fight. I was just there (with) a lack of emotion. This time, things will be different. I had enough time. Me and my team, we put everything down right and I think it’s going to be right.”
Since then, Ngannou has used his first UFC loss as motivation. By his estimation, he’s made vast improvements and rounded out his game. Fans should expect to say that when he fights Miocic (20-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) for a second time, predicted the Cameroonian.
“I had better preparation this time,” Ngannou said. “I have that experience in what we’ve been working on. I put some good work on my wrestling, jiu-jitsu, even striking. So yeah, I think skill-wise, I’ve improved a lot. I still have a lot of places to (go) in this sport. I might be 34 years old, but I believe I’m very young in the sport and I have a lot of places to grow.”
UFC 260 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
Francis Ngannou ahead of rematch: I don’t recognize the fighter who lost to Stipe Miocic in 2018
