Stipe Miocic wants to avoid a costly mistake against Francis Ngannou.
On Jan. 20, Miocic will defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title against Ngannou. The title bout will headline UFC 220 inside the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Ngannou is coming off a vicious first-round knockout over Alistair Overeem. Miocic last fought back in May, successfully defending his gold against Junior dos Santos. Miocic is going for a UFC record of three successful heavyweight title defenses.
During a recent appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Miocic talked about his upcoming title bout (via MMAFighting.com):
“I’m excited, man. Listen, he’s a good, tough dude. I mean, he can bring the pain. So will I. But unfortunately I’m not walking out without that belt. I’m still the champ. It’ll be ‘and still.’”
He went on to explain why he won’t be another one of Ngannou’s victims.
“Every guy is different, every fight is different. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh my God, his punching power.’ Listen, there’s a lot of guys who hit hard. There’s no question, he does hit hard, but I’m not going to be stupid and put myself in a position where I’m going to get hit. I’m going to do things that make him feel uncomfortable, and I’m going to do what I’m going to do. I’m not going to sit there and let him do what he wants. I’m going to dictate what I want.”
