CLEVELAND — Less than 48 hours after losing the UFC Heavyweight Championship to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 on Saturday night, Stipe Miocic took to Instagram to share a message for his friends and family.
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"First and foremost, I’m ok. I know that fall wasn’t my most graceful fall, but I was unconscious, so it happens," Miocic wrote, referring to Ngannou's second-round knockout. "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 went on to detail what he felt went wrong in his defeat to Ngannou, who he said he was attempting to tire out.
"Unfortunately, I deviated from [my] game plan. I felt great coming into the second round, I saw it was beginning to go as planned," Miocic wrote. "He was getting very winded, and I came in overzealous and unprotected. 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 [won't] 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."
Miocic's loss brought an end to his second UFC Heavyweight Championship reign, which began when he recaptured the title from Daniel Cormier at UFC 241 on Aug. 17, 2019. Over the course of his two title reigns -- the first of which began in 2016 -- the Euclid, Ohio, successfully defended the UFC Heavyweight Championship a record four times, leading most to consider him the greatest heavyweight in MMA history.
"He's the greatest heavyweight champion of all-time," UFC President Dana White told 3News' Jim Donovan during an interview last week. "Not just in the UFC, but in the entire sport. He's a great ambassador for the sport and the brand. Just such a good human being, such a regular guy and you couldn't ask for more from any of your champions."
Had Miocic successfully retained his title on Saturday, it was expected he would face Jon "Bones" Jones in a super fight that it appears will now go to Ngannou. As for what's next now, the 38-year-old Miocic isn't sure, beyond a summer in which he and his wife will be welcoming their second child, a son.
"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," he wrote. "Stay tuned, God bless."
You can watch Jim Donovan's full interviews with Miocic and White from last week below.