Stipe Miocic has broken silence following his defeat at UFC 260.
The former UFC heavyweight champion on Moday reflected publicly for the first time on his loss to Francis Ngannou at Saturday’s UFC pay-per-view event in Las Vegas. Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) was knocked out by Ngannou in the second round of their heavyweight championship rematch.
In a statement posted on Instagram, Miocic congratulated Ngannou for the win but didn’t reveal much about is plans pertaining MMA.
“First and foremost, I’m ok. I know that fall wasn’t my most graceful fall, but I was unconscious, so it happens
To my family friends and fans, especially Croatia & Cleveland..
I love you and I’m sorry. I hate letting you down. To my team, thank you. I know you feel every loss just as much as I do. We win as a family, we lose as a family. Losses aren’t fun, they always sting for a while, but that’s the beast of this business. You can’t win them all, and it’s important to understand that losing is just as much a part of sports (and life) as winning. Don’t ever forget God will always put you where you’re meant to be at that exact moment. You can’t dwell on what you should have done better, but you can learn and improve from it and come back more prepared next time.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. Lastly, I’d like to congratulate @francisngannou and his team on a well earned victory. Saturday night was your night, enjoy your victory! For now, I’m going to enjoy the down time, spend some time with my family, and welcome our son into the world this summer… stay tuned, God bless
#cletillidie”
Miocic saw a two-fight winning streak come to an end on Saturday, as he had earned back-to-back victories over Daniel Cormier to reclaim and defend his title while bouncing back from a 2018 loss to “DC” that cost him the title. Prior to the trilogy with Cormier, the 38-year-old had three straight title defenses, defeating Ngannou, Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem. Miocic is now 8-2 in his last 10 fights.
Stipe Miocic releases statement following loss to Francis Ngannou: ‘I deviated from game plan’