Stipe Miocic has a theory on why Derrick Lewis has been talking about him.
“The Black Beast” recently commented on the state of Miocic’s career in an interview with The Schmo, speculating that the two-time UFC heavyweight champion’s best days were behind him and that he seemed “punch-drunk.”
While Miocic is coming off of a title fight loss to Francis Ngannou, he’s not putting much stock in Lewis’ assessment and he joked that maybe Lewis has his own physiological issues.
“I’m punch drunk?” Miocic told Submission Radio (transcription via Denis Shkuratov). “I have no idea what he’s talking about. But okay.
“His balls were probably too hot, that’s probably why he said that.”
At the moment, Miocic is biding his time and waiting for the heavyweight picture to shake itself out. UFC President Dana White has said on multiple occasions that Lewis will be Ngannou’s first title challenger and former light heavyweight king Jon Jones is waiting in the wings for his shot as he enters the division.
Miocic and Jones have mentioned the possibility of fighting one another in the past, though Jones recently shot down the idea. That’s just fine for Miocic, who is focused on becoming champion for a third time regardless of whether that means he has to go through Jones or not.
“It is what it is,” Miocic said. “I mean, listen, I’m not a matchmaker, I’m not worried about what he thinks or says. I just need to get my rematch and get my belt back. My ‘punch-drunk’ ass.”
Miocic acknowledged that defeating Jones would add to his own legacy, but emphasized that his priority is the UFC heavyweight title above all else. White has endorsed Miocic as a candidate to challenge the Ngannou-Lewis 2 winner, which sounds great to Miocic even if he’s not counting his chickens just yet.
“Great news,” Miocic said. “It’s was what I was expecting, but you never know what could happen. But I’m real happy with that.”
“When I have a contract, then it’ll be real,” he added.
Watch Miocic’s full interview with Submission Radio here: