S. Miocic (right) retained the heavy belt (Photo: Reproduction Twitter ufc)
The fairy tale of Francis Ngannou came to an abrupt and unfortunate end at UFC 220 this Saturday (20). The Cameroonian, who began his professional MMA career less than five years ago, was completely dominated by Stipe Miocic, who retained the category belt and made history by becoming the first UFC heavyweight champion to defend his title three times, surpassing Tim Sylvia, Randy Couture and Cain Velásquez, the organization's previous main champions.
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Despite not ending the fight with a knockout or a submission, Miocic made it clear that he is superior to Ngannou in all areas, bringing an intelligent game plan to the Octagon and sticking to his guns even when the Cameroonian's strongest punches came in. in the first round.
In the co-main fight of the night, Daniel Cormier retained the light heavyweight belt with a dominant victory over Volkan oezdemir. After going through trouble in the opening round, DC recovered in the first five minutes and took control of the fight, achieving a technical knockout in the second round.
Miocic dominates
Knowing that the weak point of Francis Ngannou it was the floor, Stipe Miocic He started the fight willing to take down his opponent using the single leg (a takedown in which the fighter takes only one of the opponent's legs and uses leverage to take him to the ground). However, the Cameroonian surprised by managing to stay on his feet and began to throw hard blows at the champion. The Croatian-American was in trouble, but he knew how to absorb the challenger's main punches and threw good shots too, getting the takedown and controlling his opponent until the end of the first round.
In the second round, Miocic already had a physical advantage over a tired Ngannou, and had an easier time putting and keeping the fight on the ground. However, the champion surprised by not throwing any more blows and seeking the knockout or submission, preferring to hold the challenger on the ground, making him carry all 111 kg of his form.
The third and fourth rounds were a repeat of the second, with Miocic maintaining his style of looking for the ground and connecting good blows while standing. Exhausted, Ngannou seemed surrendered and went from predator to prey, not resisting the champion's falls and transitions on the ground.
The fifth round was also similar to the others, but the Cameroonian at least connected with a knee, which was very little to prevent Miocic from becoming the greatest champion in UFC heavyweight history.
Cormier 'regains' the belt
Despite already entering UFC 220 as light heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier revealed that he didn't feel like he owned the belt after losing it in a defeat to Jon Jones which was unsuccessful after doping by “Bones”. Thus, DC “regained” the title brilliantly, even suffering from the weight of the hand of Volkan oezdemir at the beginning.
Showing a little hesitation, Cormier started worse than his opponent, who went after the champion, looking for a quick knockout, like his last two fights. DC managed to keep the fight standing and demonstrated that his chin remains tough, despite the brutal knockout suffered at the hands of Jones. After a while of readjusting to the octagon, the champion found himself in the fight, landing hard blows on the Swiss and came close to closing the deal with a rear-naked choke – “No Time” was saved by the bell.
In the second round, however, Cormier had five minutes to work and only needed two to finally finish off Oezdemir. After a few seconds of fighting, DC put the duel on the ground and began to progress towards the “crucifix” position. From there, he threw blows until the central referee ended the fight.
UFC 220 RESULTS:
main card
Heavyweight: Stipe Miocic derrotou Francis Ngannou by unanimous decision (3x 50-44)
Light Heavyweight: Daniel Cormier derrotou Volkan oezdemir by technical knockout at 2 minutes of R2
Feather weight: Calvin kattar derrotou Shane burgos by knockout at 32 seconds of R3
Light Heavyweight: Gian Villante derrotou Francimar Bodão by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Bantamweight: Rob font derrotou Thomas almeida by technical knockout at 2:24 of R2
Preliminary Card
Featherweight: Kyle Bochniak defeated Brandon davis by unanimous decision (20-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Welterweight: Abdul Hazak Alhassan defeated Sabah Homasi by knockout at 3:47 of R1
Flyweight: Dustin Ortiz defeated Alexandre pantoja by unanimous decision (3x 29-28)
Feather weight: Julio Maple derrotou Dan Ige by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Feather weight: Enrique Barzola defeated Matt Bessette via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Lightweight: Islam makhachev derrotou Gleison Tibau by knockout at 57s of R1
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