Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou believes that Stipe Miocic (20-4) will have a ‘stylistic’ advantage over Jon Jones (27-1) in their UFC 295 main event heavyweight title match.
Ngannou squared off with Miocic twice during his time with the UFC, the second of which resulted in the knockout that secured him the undisputed heavyweight title in 2021. Now, ‘The Predator’ is preparing for his professional boxing debut this Saturday versus WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, while off to the side Miocic gets ready to once again fight for the UFC heavyweight championship on November 11th versus the man who is considered by many to be the greatest of all time, Jon Jones.
THREE WEEKS 🙌 #UFC295 pic.twitter.com/bpWHu2IKOg
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 21, 2023
Back in March, Jones made quick work of Ciryl Gane with a first round guillotine submission, earning him the vacant heavyweight belt in his first appearance since 2020. Prior to this bout, Jones was gearing up to face Ngannou, but unfortunately due to a contract dispute that resulted in Ngannou leaving the UFC and relinquishing his title, the highly anticipated match between the pair never materialized.
In a recent interview with Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports, Ngannou gave his take on the upcoming bout between Jones and Miocic at UFC 295.
“I would pick Stipe,” Ngannou told CBS Sports. “Stylistically, Stipe. I fought Stipe twice. Stipe doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Obviously, I won the second time but I know that I could have even lost that time. I know how good of a fighter he is. He fought [Daniel Cormier] three times and you can see how he fought.
“This is also a different weight class for Jon Jones. This is heavyweight and I think it’s slightly different than light heavyweight. I agree that Jon Jones is the best at light heavyweight, but I think at heavyweight he definitely will be challenged.”
Full Interview Below:
Despite the fact that Miocic has not fought since March 2021, Ngannou still feels that at heavyweight he could present some troubling situations for Jones to have to overcome.