CLEVELAND — On Saturday, Stipe Miocic lost his UFC Heavyweight Championship to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260.
RELATED: More sports coverage from WKYC
With that in mind, let's take a look at the potential next step for the Euclid, Ohio, native, who lays claim to the most heavyweight title defenses in UFC history.
Rematch
Entering UFC 260, the consensus seemed to be that the winner of the Miocic vs. Ngannou fight would be in line for a super fight against Jon "Bones" Jones, who is expected to make the move from the lightweight division to heavyweight. Comments made after Saturday's fight by both UFC President Dana White and Jones, however, seem to leave those plans in question and have created uncertainty regarding the direction of the heavyweight division.
While White has already mentioned Derrick Lewis as a possible contender for Ngannou's title, it would be tough to argue Miocic doesn't have a legitimate claim to a rematch. In addition to holding the record for defenses of the title and being considered "the greatest Heavyweight Champion of all time" by White, Miocic defeated Ngannou during his first title reign in 2018.
As was the case when he lost the championship to Daniel Cormier in 2018 and was jumped by Lewis for a title shot, if Miocic wants his rematch, he may have to wait his turn. But should negotiations between Jones and the UFC continue to fall apart, the two-time heavyweight champion may not have to wait as long as anticipated for his chance at a third reign.
Tune-up fight
Should Jones and the UFC come to terms on a title fight, it's tough to imagine anyone else jumping the line. That could set up a number of intriguing opponents for Miocic, including Lewis, in what would likely be considered a de facto No. 1 contenders fight.
Having indicated in an Instagram post on Monday that he plans to take the summer off from the octagon as he and his wife welcome the birth of their son, it seems unlikely that Miocic's next fight will be a title fight. Who Miocic faces next may very well be as simple as the timing of when he decides to make his return.
Retirement
Even prior to Saturday's loss to Ngannou, people had been speculating about Miocic's potential retirement. Already laying claim to a Hall of Fame-caliber resume, it would be tough to blame the 38-year-old for feeling as if he doesn't have anything left to accomplish in the sport.
“Of course, who doesn’t want to go out on top?” Miocic told MMA Fighting prior to UFC 260. “Once I get to that point, but right now, I’m having fun. I like winning, and I’m going to keep winning.”
Whether Saturday's loss changed his thinking -- as UFC's Joe Rogan suggested it might have -- remains unclear. But Miocic's Instagram post didn't sound like a fighter ready to hang up his gloves any time soon.
"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," Miocic wrote. "Unfortunately, I deviated from [my] 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 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."