If Stipe Miocic gets his rubber match with Francis Ngannou, he aims to be a lot bigger on the night.
Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) lost his UFC heavyweight title to Ngannou (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) at UFC 260 via second-round knockout and is dead set on reclaiming his belt.
The pair are currently tied at one-a-piece, with Miocic dominating their first outing in January 2018, and the consensus greatest heavyweight of all time hopes he gets the chance to close his chapter with Ngannou.
“I hate losing more than anyone,” Miocic said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “I’m the most competitive person you’ll ever meet, and it burns. I’m still butt-hurt about it, but it is what it is. It’s part of the game, and I lost. I’ve got to swallow my pride and get back on the horse.”
However, it doesn’t seem Miocic will get his wish right away. Ngannou is projected to rematch Derrick Lewis next, which will keep Miocic waiting in the wings – and there’s the whole matter of a Jon Jones move to heavyweight to address, as well. But during his time waiting, Miocic plans on putting on some size in preparation for a potential trilogy with Ngannou.
At UFC 260, Miocic weighed in at 234 pounds, while Ngannou weighed 263, giving Ngannou a significant size advantage. Though the strategy of slimming down worked for Miocic in both his rematch and trilogy bout with Daniel Cormier, it unfortunately didn’t against Ngannou.
“I want to get back what’s mine,” Miocic said. “It’s bulking season. I’m going to eat as much as I can and get big and strong. I’m trying to get to like 250 (pounds). I made 230 last time, not because I tried, but because of training.
“I’m really going to stick to really trying to gain a little bit of weight, just get a little bit more mass. I felt good, but I think 20 pounds will help. I will feel a lot stronger, and he’s a big dude. There’s no question about it.”
Miocic admits he got careless in the fight for a split-second, which cost him. After landing his best punch of the fight, Miocic got overzealous and was caught with a thunderous left hook which knocked him out.
“I felt good,” Miocic said. “I gave him the first round. I wasn’t worried. He’s usually stronger in the first round. I kind of felt him gassing a little bit, but he was still good, and I was like, ‘OK, we still have four more rounds to go,’ and then I hit him with a right hand, and I hesitated for a split-second, and he caught me with that hook. What are you gonna do?”
