Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou heavyweight title fight official for UFC 220

By: Mike Bohn | December 9, 2017 11:30 pm

One of the most anticipated heavyweight title fights in UFC history is official for the UFC 220 main event.

The heavyweight title fight between champion Stipe Miocic and No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou was confirmed today by UFC officials for the Jan. 20 event, which takes place at TD Garden in Boston and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Following Ngannou’s (11-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) devastating knockout win over Alistair Overeem at UFC 218, UFC President Dana White said “The Predator” is next up for Miocic (17-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC). Now it’s happening less than two months later.

Since winning the belt with a victory over Fabricio Werdum in May 2016, has defended it against Overeem and Junior Dos Santos. All three victories have come by way of stoppage – two as knockouts and the Dos Santos win via TKO. Miocic’s last five fights in total have resulted in stoppage wins. A third title defense would give him the UFC heavyweight record.

As for Ngannou, who started fighting professionally just four years ago, all six of his UFC wins have been stoppages – three TKOs, two knockouts and a submission.

Miocic vs. Ngannou is UFC 220’s second title fight. Daniel Cormier will defend that the light heavyweight title vs. Volkan Oezdemir on the card.

It marks just the fourth time in UFC history that the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles would be at stake on the same card. The last time it happened was on Dec. 27, 2008, at UFC 92, where 205-pound champion Forrest Griffin lost the title to Rashad Evans via TKO, while interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was stopped for the first time in his career by Frank Mir.

The only time both undisputed titles were on the line on the same night was at UFC 44 in Sept. 2003.

With the addition, the latest UFC 220 lineup includes: