Heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic declares himself greatest of all time after UFC 220 win

Heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic declares himself greatest of all time after UFC 220 win

Heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic declares himself greatest of all time after UFC 220 win

By Steven Marrocco , Matt Erickson January 21, 2018 4:00 am

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By: Steven Marrocco and Matt Erickson | January 21, 2018 4:00 am

BOSTON – UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic defended his belt, broke a record and celebrated his future daughter at UFC 220.

Not a bad night of work if you’re trying to prove you’re the best ever.

“It was the Stipe show tonight,” Miocic said after dominating Francis Ngannou to earn a record third consecutive title defense in the pay-per-view headliner of Saturday’s event at TD Garden in Boston. “It wasn’t about him. It was about me, because I’m the champ. I broke the record. I’m the best.”

Leading up to the event, it often seemed more like the Ngannou (11-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) show. The UFC went all in on the striking phenom from Cameroon, boasting his power at every turn and pushing a narrative that at times cast Miocic (18-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) more as a bump on the road than a formidable threat.

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At one point, Miocic called out the promotion and said it wanted Ngannou to win. After he denied that outcome on Saturday, he took his heavyweight belt from UFC President Dana White and had his coach wrap it around his waist.

“My dude,” Miocic said of his choice to have a teammate crown him. “He respects me, and I respect him.”

Asked later whether there was a lack of respect from White, who ultimately was in charge of the campaign that put Ngannou front and center, Miocic demurred.

“I don’t really care,” he said.

Efforts to pin him to his next challenge also were met with frustration, although White is pushing for a superfight with UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC), who defended his title in the co-headliner of UFC 220. Cormier also is open to the idea (sort of), but Miocic doesn’t want to make any firm commitments.

“Listen, yeah,” Miocic said when asked if he’d fight Cormier. “Right now, I don’t care. I just got done fighting, like, 45 minutes ago, 25 hard minutes with a tough dude. I don’t really care what’s going on right now. I just want to go home, see my dog and hang out with my wife.”

The champ certainly earned his time off after taking a few of Ngannou’s vaunted punches. It took only one shot, Miocic said, to blow up his left eye.

“He definitely hits hard,” Miocic said. “There’s no question. It’s the heavyweight division. Do you want to get hit by him? Exactly. It sucked.

“Look at my eye. One punch. It was my own fault; I stayed in the line. But I hit him a lot more than he hit me, and that’s why I still have the belt.”

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Miocic admits his gameplan was to wear out Ngannou on the mat and said after the first round, he could feel the challenger’s will slipping away.

“He’d never been there,” Miocic said of his grappling strategy. “Why not? He caught me in the first round a couple of times, but after that, I took the will out of him. That’s what I do.

“Listen, man, I’ve got the fighting spirit. It’s going to take a lot more to take me out. Ford Escort, Ford F-150, I don’t really care. I’m going to keep coming. He’s a tough dude, no question. He’s got a great career ahead of him. But I’m going to keep coming.”

There will be more tough challenges ahead – that much Miocic is certain of. But to him, there’s no more doubt about who’s the baddest man on the planet.

“F*ck yeah, I do (feel like the best ever),” Miocic said. “I had a killer’s row to get to it. I had a hard path to get to the title, and I had a hard path to defend the title. Nothing’s ever easy, but I’ve never had an easy road.”

For complete coverage of UFC 220 , check out the UFC Events section of the site.