Stipe Miocic has issued a statement following his second-round KO loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260.
Miocic entered the fight looking to defend his heavyweight title for the second time since reclaiming his belt. Unfortunately, it did not go his way as in the second round, Ngannou dropped Miocic and after Miocic got up, he appeared to rock the challenger but Ngannou landed a heavy shot that knocked the champ out cold.
After the loss, Miocic took to Instagram to release his first statement where he apologized to his supporters.
“First and foremost, I’m ok. I know that fall wasn’t my most graceful fall, but I was unconscious, so it happens,” Stipe Miocic wrote on Instagram. “To my family friends and fans, especially Croatia & Cleveland..
“I love you and I’m sorry. I hate letting you down. To my team, thank you. I know you feel every loss just as much as I do. We win as a family, we lose as a family. Losses aren’t fun, they always sting for a while, but that’s the beast of this business,” Miocic continued. “You can’t win them all, and it’s important to understand that losing is just as much a part of sports (and life) as winning. Don’t ever forget God will always put you where you’re meant to be at that exact moment. You can’t dwell on what you should have done better, but you can learn and improve from it and come back more prepared next time.”
After the first round, Stipe Miocic said he was confident because he felt Ngannou was starting to gas out. Unfortunately, the champ says he went away from his game plan which then cost him the fight and getting knocked out.
“Unfortunately, I deviated from game plan. I felt great coming into the second round, I saw it was beginning to go as planned. He was getting very winded, and I came in over zealous and unprotected,” Miocic said. “I wasn’t in a good posture to take the hit. He saw the opening, and did what any great fighter would have done. That was my error that I accept, it wont happen again. Lastly, I’d like to congratulate @francisngannou and his team on a well earned victory. Saturday night was your night, enjoy your victory! For now, I’m going to enjoy the down time, spend some time with my family, and welcome our son into the world this summer… stay tuned, God bless.”
When Stipe Miocic will fight again is uncertain.
What do you make of Stipe Miocic’s statement following his UFC 260 loss?
