Francis Ngannou Says There’s Only One Reason Stipe Miocic Is UFC Champ

Francis Ngannou is confident as ever as he finishes preparing for his UFC 220 heavyweight title fight against champion Stipe Miocic.

Ngannou has skyrocketed to the top of the division in just two years time, having fought his first UFC fight in 2015. Meanwhile, his opponent has been fighting in the UFC since 2011, and the challenger believes that’s the only reason why Miocic is the current champ and Ngannou isn’t already.

The Cameroonian-Frenchman elaborated during a recent interview with MMA Junkie:

“You say he’s the champion for a reason, yes, he’s the champion for a reason: He’s the champion because the real champ wasn’t there. Now the real champ is on the way, and (Miocic) is not going to be the champion as long.”

“Sometimes I feel like it’s normal because even before my UFC debut, I always believed in myself. I always believed even before I started the sport in my life that I can do something really great. That’s probably the reason that I started the sport – because I feel that when you feel something in you and something that you can’t explain, you just have to do it to show people.”

Ngannou will get his chance for UFC gold at UFC 220 in Boston on January 20, where the immovable object meets an unstoppable force in Stipe Miocic.

Miocic himself is on a five-fight win streak, all by knockout stoppages and four of which occurred in the first round. However, to Ngannou’s point, Miocic nearly began his MMA career in the UFC, and at times he faltered on his way to maturing into the fighter we see today, dropping fights to Stefan Struve and Junior Dos Santos.

Miocic will look to set a UFC record of three heavyweight title defenses with a win over Ngannou at UFC 220.