CLEVELAND -- UFC champion Stipe Miocic set the record for the most consecutive defenses of the heavyweight title with last Saturday’s dominant unanimous-decision victory over top-ranked contender Francis Ngannou at TD Garden in Boston.
And while Miocic did not want to talk about any future opponents in the immediate aftermath of the five-round fight, he took to Twitter to welcome any and all comers for the championship he has held for more than 20 months.
“Break the record once? Nahhh. I still go shelf space. Who’s next?” Miocic posted.
Despite being the underdog once again, Miocic, a graduate of Eastlake North High School, retained the UFC heavyweight champion of the world by outpointing and outwrestling Ngannou in the main event of UFC 220.
Miocic won the bout, 50-44, on all three of the judges' scorecards.
According to FightMetric, Miocic was successful with six of his 14 takedown attempts (42 percent), and used those to build one-sided advantages in control and total strikes against the 263-pound Ngannou, who was unbeaten in his first six UFC bouts.
Miocic held control of Ngannou for 15 of the 25 minutes of the fight, and while in the clinch and guard, he landed most of his 200 strikes. Known as a judicious puncher, Miocic connected on 200 of his 244 strikes (82 percent) and 70 of his 95 significant attempts (74 percent).
Conversely, Ngannou landed just 33 strikes in the entire bout and failed to lock in his only submission attempt.
Including the win over Ngannou, Miocic has now won six straight fights, improved to 18-2 in his professional career, and is 12-2 in 14 bouts under the UFC banner.
