Stipe Miocic Speaks On UFC 260 Loss To Francis Ngannou
Stipe Miocic has issued a statement on his UFC 260 defeat to Francis Ngannou.
Miocic put the UFC Heavyweight Championship on the line in a rematch at UFC 260. In their first encounter back in January 2018, Miocic defeated Ngannou via unanimous decision. The rematch played out far differently as Ngannou scored the second-round knockout win.
Miocic issued a statement on losing the UFC gold in devastating fashion in an Instagram post.
View this post on Instagram
“First and foremost, I’m ok. I know that fall wasn’t my most graceful fall, but I was unconscious, so it happens. To my family friends and fans, especially Croatia & Cleveland. I love you and I’m sorry. I hate letting you down.
To my team, thank you. I know you feel every loss just as much as I do. We win as a family, we lose as a family. Losses aren’t fun, they always sting for a while, but that’s the beast of this business. You can’t win them all, and it’s important to understand that losing is just as much a part of sports (and life) as winning.
Don’t ever forget God will always put you where you’re meant to be at that exact moment. 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.
Unfortunately, I deviated from the 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 wont happen again. Lastly, I’d like to congratulate @francisngannou and his team on a well-earned victory. Saturday night was your night, enjoy your victory! For now, I’m going to enjoy the downtime, spend some time with my family, and welcome our son into the world this summer… stay tuned, God bless.”