There is a new UFC heavyweight champion and a new martial arts superstar. Francis Ngannou may be on his way to owning one of the best years in martial arts, and it kicked off Saturday with a brutal knockout of Stipe Miocic, the greatest heavyweight of all time. So what’s next for Ngannou? Millions? Recommendations? UFC events in Paris or Africa? The sky is the limit.
As for Miocic, the heavyweight GOAT is far from outside the conversation. Is a trilogy battle with Ngannou part of his plans? Or will he temporarily step aside and wait to see how the division develops?
Ahead of the main event, Vicente Luque made a statement with a win over former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, and Sean O’Malley got back in the win column with another addition to his highlight role.
Let’s take a look at what’s in store for the highlights of UFC 260.
Francis Ngannou, heavyweight (defeated Stipe Miocic by knockout)
Who should be next: Jon Jones
Oh baby. This is going to be a fight. It’s a cliché, but it’s the truth: Ngannou is the scariest, meanest – whatever you want to call it – man on the planet right now. He is the ultimate challenge in MMA. He had that setback in 2018 against Miocic, but he clearly learned from it and now realizes the huge potential that we all recognized from the first time we saw him.
We haven’t seen that much obvious potential in a hunter since … Jon Jones. I think it’s safe to say we see Ngannou hit its peak. Meanwhile, with Khabib Nurmagomedov retiring, Jones is pretty much the consensus choice for the No. 1 pound-for-pound hunter on the planet. This is what you call a super fight.
Wild card: Stipe Miocic
If the negotiations between the UFC and Jones run up against a problem – and there is no evidence that it does, but it is always a possibility – then we could see another opponent for Ngannou.
At that point, it really comes down to timing. After being relatively inactive for the past few years, you get the feeling that Ngannou is ready to go. If he wants to fight again and Miocic isn’t ready, it could be Derrick Lewis or even Ciryl Gane. However, the favorite non-Jones opponent to take to the fray has to be Miocic, who is still the greatest heavyweight of all time despite this loss.
Stipe Miocic, heavyweight (lost to Francis Ngannou by knockout)
Who’s Next: Winner of Ngannou vs. Jones
Miocic and Ngannou are now tied 1-1. Of course this man deserves an immediate second chance against Ngannou. The problem is that the UFC has already made it clear that it wants to go in the direction of Jones, which I am not against.
Jones finally moving to heavyweight is a really big deal. He hasn’t fought since February 2020. I don’t want to see Jones sit for two years, and I don’t think anyone wants to see that. Miocic, in his late thirties, doesn’t like high frequency fighting anyway, so let him wait. Book Ngannou vs. Jones in the fall, get Miocic out, put him in the front row, build a whole thing around it.
The sport will get Jones as a heavyweight – a story it’s been waiting for – and Miocic will be given time to rest and a chance to reclaim his belt in early 2022.
Wild card: retirement
I don’t know why the idea of retirement has followed Miocic over the years. Maybe it’s because he’s accomplished everything you could ask of him. Maybe it’s because he’s been in some tough fights and his activity has slowed down a bit. He has also admitted that he is considering retiring after just about every fight.
But from a competitive standpoint, he clearly hasn’t lost a step and doesn’t need to retire at all. When he goes home to his family and decides to leave it for a day, hats off to the heavyweight GOAT. If he does want to compete, his next fight has to be for the title. It’s the only right thing to do.
Vicente Luque, welterweight (defeated Tyron Woodley by submission)
Who is next: Nate Diaz
Let’s go! I mean why not? Diaz wants to fight, but he is selective about who he fights. He wants to be upside down. He wants one of those old-school fighters – the ones who come for blood and not points. Luque is that guy. Will Diaz take it? Who knows? He has earned the right to choose his battles, and he exercises that right.
When I look at the welterweight rankings, there is no clear match for Luque to go to. Maybe that’s also where this callout comes from. The one that makes the most sense from a rankings perspective is Stephen Thompson, but Thompson defeated Luque via a decision in November 2019. I probably should have seen this call coming, but I didn’t. And now I love it.
Wild card: Demian Maia
I really don’t like this answer. Maia has made it quite public that his next fight will likely be his last. And if that’s the case, I don’t know if Luque is the ideal opponent. It’s a good, interesting fight, but when Maia is on her way out of the sport, Luque is coming. Fights like this happen, but I don’t know if we should see this.
That said, Maia is still highly regarded, and there just aren’t many other options for Luque. Colby Covington and Leon Edwards may be on a collision course. Gilbert Burns and Luque are teammates. Maybe it must be Maia.
Sean O’Malley, Bantamweight (defeated Thomas Almeida by KO)
Who is next: Randy Costa
Okay, so let’s bend one topic before moving on to the next. Marlon Vera deserves credit for beating O’Malley in August, but to treat that loss like it was a one-sided, three-round defeat in which we found out O’Malley isn’t the man we thought he was is just absurd.
The talent is there, it has always been there and it looks like it is getting better. O’Malley is actually hard for me to match because there is definitely a part of me that wants to elevate him. He looked so much better than Almeida (who, admittedly, is not a proven world beater), I want to see a step up in the competition. That said, I don’t know yet if a ranked opponent is suitable. After another.
Costa is good, young and talented. He has a great style that suits O’Malley.
Wild card: Davey Grant
Grant isn’t in the top 15, but he’s got a three-fight win streak – and he comes through an absolutely sensational knockout from Jonathan Martinez. If Martinez had won that fight, he was actually a name I might have thrown out for O’Malley. So what about the guy who just beat him?