‘Overzealous’ Stipe Miocic reacts to Francis Ngannou loss at UFC 260 — ‘I deviated from the game plan’

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic recently issued his first statement in the wake of his knockout loss to Francis Ngannou, which cost him the UFC 260 pay-per-view (PPV) main event — and the 265-pound title — last Sat. night (March 27, 2021) at APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

From Miocic’s Instagram page:

“First and foremost, I’m okay. 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 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 Francis Ngannou and his team on a well earned victory. Saturday night was your night, enjoy your victory. For now, I’m going to enjoy the down time, spend some time with my family, and welcome our son into the world this summer… stay tuned. God bless.”

Miocic (20-4), who turns 39 in August, made no mention of a possible return in today’s statement but with an 8-2 record over his last 10 fights and one of the best heavyweight resumes on the planet, we’re likely to see the former champ return later this year.

Despite what Joe Rogan thinks.