The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Miocic will retain belt with KO of Ngannou
BOSTON » Daniel Cormier knows all about the light that sets a fire within a champion. Just make the champion an underdog.
That happened to Cormier last April when the UFC light heavyweight champion entered his title bout against Anthony Johnson an underdog with odds makers. Cormier won the fight in Round 2 by submission.
Which leads us to another interesting championship fight within the UFC.
On Jan. 20, Eastlake North graduate and Northeast Ohio resident Stipe Miocic puts his heavyweight championship belt on the line against No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou. The oddsmakers say it will be an upset if the champion leaves the octagon with the belt.
It’s because of the punching power Ngannou displayed in his last fight Dec. 2 against Alistair Overeem. Ngannou flattened
Overeem with a vicious left uppercut. It created big-time buzz around the 31-year-old Ngannou, who many view as the future of the UFC’s heavyweight division.
That is unless Miocic has anything to say about it — and he does.
“I like winning,” Miocic has said countless times since becoming champion in May 2016. “I’m not giving up the belt.”
Cormier should know about that desire. He and Miocic spent time together last summer in Cleveland taping a UFC show and got to know each other on a personal level.
The champions met again this week as preparations for UFC 220 at Boston’s TD Garden continue. Miocic fights Ngannou in the main event, and Cormier puts his light heavyweight belt on the line vs. Volkan Oezdemir.
Cormier is the betting favorite vs. Oezdemir. Miocic isn’t vs. Ngannou. Cormier implied that makes the heavyweight champion dangerous. It’s the same way being the underdog vs. Johnson, who wowed the crowd as a heavy hitter, motivated Cormier last April.
“It surely did,” said Cormier on Jan. 18 at UFC 220 media day at Fenway Park. “I thought, ‘How in the world do these people think because he punches hard he can beat me?’ So yes, it surely did motivate me.”
Miocic shrugs off the odds makers, but inside the fire surely burns. He feels disrespect as the
reigning champion who has won his last four bouts since the start of 2016 with first-round knockouts. A win against Ngannou would put Miocic alone in the record books with three title defenses. No heavyweight in the 25-year history of the UFC has defended the belt more than twice.
Another factor that’s likely more motivation is Miocic’s belief the UFC would like to see Ngannou become its new heavyweight champion. He said that recently while on “The MMA Hour.”
“Obviously, for sure,” Miocic said on the show. “Listen, I feel a little bit disrespected, but I’m not going to dwell on it.”
There’s more. Ngannou — after knocking out Overeem — said in a postfight interview Miocic was the “interim” champion holding the belt until it was Ngannou’s.
Talk doesn’t win or lose bouts leading up to a super fight.
Ability, heart and desire are what make champions.
Miocic is known to say he’s a guy who “loves to fight. I’m a fighter. That’s what I do.” In this bout, though, there’s a bit more to the storyline, and that’s the disrespect card the 35-year-old champion is carrying inside.
That motivation will help Miocic to victory Jan. 20. Expect the champion to be cautious in Round 1. Also expect Ngannou to come out hot and to look for another quick knockout.
“I’m cautious the whole fight, making sure I don’t put myself in a bad position,” said Miocic at UFC 220 media day. “But I’m also going to go out there and do my job. I push the pace, and I can counter. I can do both. You’ll see on Saturday when I win.”
If the fight goes beyond Round 3 (it’s a five-round bout with each round five minutes), the advantage swings heavily to Miocic, who went the distance vs. Junior dos Santos in a tough and bloody 2014 match.
“(Ngannou) has great ability. He’s a tough guy,” said Miocic. “But I’m definitely going to exploit him.”
Prediction: Miocic retains the belt and sets the UFC heavyweight record with a knockout of Ngannou in Round 3.
Contact Podolski at MPodolski@News-Herald. com; On Twitter: @mpodo