There’s a new UFC heavyweight champion and a new combat sports superstar. Francis Ngannou is possibly on his way to owning one of the best years in combat sports, and he started Saturday with a brutal elimination of Stipe Miocic, the greatest heavyweight of all time. So what’s next for Ngannou? Millions? Avals? UFC events in Paris or Africa? The sky is the limit.
As for Miocic, the heavy goat is far from out of the conversation. Is a trilogy fight with Ngannou part of his plans? Or will he temporarily move away and wait to see how the division develops?
Before the main event, Vicente Luque made a statement with a win sent to former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, and Sean O’Malley returned to the winning column with a new addition to his most prominent reel.
Let’s take a look at what’s left for the UFC 260 highlights.
Francis Ngannou, heavyweight (defeated Stipe Miocic by knockout)
Who should be this: Jon Jones
Oh, girl. This will be a bit of a fight. It’s a cliché, but it’s the truth: Ngannou is the most terrifying and evil man (as you like to call him) on the planet right now. It is the ultimate challenge of MMA. He had this setback in 2018 against Miocic, but he has clearly learned from it and now he realizes the immense potential we all recognized from the first time we saw him.
We haven’t seen this potential so evident in a fighter since … Jon Jones. I think it’s safe to say we’re watching Ngannou get to his peak. Meanwhile, Jones, with the withdrawal of Khabib Nurmagomedov, is almost the consensus option for the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. This is what you call superfight.
Wildcard: Stipe Miocic
If the negotiations between the UFC and Jones were right – and there has been no evidence, but it is always possible – we could see a different opponent for Ngannou.
Right now, it’s really about time. Having been relatively inactive in recent years, one gets the feeling that Ngannou is ready to start. If he wants to fight again and Miocic is not ready, it could be Derrick Lewis or even Ciryl Gane. The favorite opponent other than Jones to fight, however, must be Miocic, who, despite this loss, remains the best heavyweight of all time.
Stipe Miocic, heavyweight (lost to Francis Ngannou by tie)
Who will be next: Winner of Ngannou Vs. Jones
Miocic and Ngannou now draw 1-1. Of course, this man deserves an immediate revenge against Ngannou. The problem is that the UFC has already made it clear that it wants to head to Jones, which I am not against.
Jones finally gaining heavy weight is a great thing. He hasn’t fought since February 2020. I don’t want to see Jones sit for two years and I think no one wants to see him. Miocic, over 30, doesn’t like to fight at high frequency anyway, so let him wait. Book Ngannou vs. Jones in the fall, take out Miocic, sit him in the front row, and build everything around him.
The sport becomes Jones as a heavyweight (a narrative he has waited a long time to see) and Miocic has time to rest and a chance to regain his belt in early 2022.
Wildcard: retirement
I don’t know why the idea of retirement has followed Miocic in recent years. Maybe it’s because he got everything you could ask for. Maybe it’s because he’s had some really tough fights and his activity has slowed down a bit. He has also admitted that he contemplates retiring after almost every fight.
But, from a competitive standpoint, he’s obviously not lost a step and doesn’t need to retire at all. If he goes home with his family and decides to tell her one day, the hat is thrown at the heavy goat. If he wants to compete again, his next fight has to be for the title. It is the only thing that needs to be done.
Vicente Luque, welterweight (defeated Tyron Woodley by submission)
Who will be: Nate Diaz
Here we go! I mean, why not? Diaz wants to fight, but is selective in who he fights. It flies upside down. He wants one of those old-school fighters – the ones who come looking for blood and not points. Luque is this guy. Will Diaz take it? Who knows? He has earned the right to choose his fights and exercises it.
When I look at the welterweight ranking, there is no obvious showdown where Luque can go. Perhaps this is also where this prominent text comes from. The one that makes the most sense from a ranking standpoint is Stephen Thompson, but Thompson defeated Luque by decision in November 2019. He probably should have seen that callout coming, but no. And now I love it.
Wildcard: Demian Maia
Honestly, I don’t love that answer. Maia has made it known that her next fight will probably be the last. And if so, I don’t know if Luque is the ideal opponent. It’s a good, interesting fight, but if Maia is getting out of the sport, Luque is on her way. These kinds of fights happen, but I don’t know if you need to see it.
Now that said, Maia is still highly ranked and there aren’t many options for Luque. Colby Covington and Leon Edwards could be colliding. Gilbert Burns and Luque are teammates. Maybe it should be Maya.
Sean O’Malley, rooster weight (defeated Thomas Almeida by KO)
Who will be next: Randy Costa
Very well, then, we put a bow on one subject before moving on to the next. Marlon Vera deserves a merit for beating O’Malley in August, but treating that loss as if it were a one-sided, three-round defeat in which we discovered that O’Malley wasn’t the guy we thought was just absurd.
Talent is there, it has always been there and it seems to be improving. O’Malley is really hard on me, because there’s definitely a part of me that wants to elevate him. He looked much better than Almeida (who, of course, is not a proven defender of the world), I want to see one more step in the competition. That said, I don’t know if a ranked opponent is still suitable. After one more.
Costa is good, young and talented. He has a great style to match O’Malley.
Wildcard: Davey Grant
Grant is not ranked in the top 15, but has a three-fight winning streak and is coming off a sensational Jonathan Martinez tie. If Martinez had won that fight, it’s actually a name he could have rejected for O’Malley. What about the guy who just beat him up?