Francis Ngannou at a long time has seen a more scary heavyweight than the UFC. He chooses at Boston on Stipe Miocic for its championship buckle Saturday.
We are only in the third week of January, but the UFC could have difficulty staging a better card at the top at 2018 than UFC 220 on Saturday night in TD Garden in Boston. It’s headlined by a heavyweight title bout between champion Stipe Miocic and terrifying Francis Ngannou. The five-fight principal card is predicted to begin at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view. Following is a peek at their MMA odds and those bouts.
UFC 220 Miocic vs. Ngannou Odds
Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou
Records: Miocic (17-2), Ngannou (11-1)
Division: Heavyweight
UFC Odds: Miocic +130, Ngannou -160 Prediction: Ngannou by KO/TKO
The American Miocic, 35, looks to create UFC history here by making a third consecutive successful defence of his eponymous name — that’s never been done before. Miocic has won five fights in a row overall and took the belt from Fabricio Werdum by first-round knockout (punches) in UFC 198 in May 2016. Miocic then beat Alistair Overeem in September that year-old knockout (punches) and got revenge on former champion Junior dos Santos in May 2017 using a first-round TKO (punches). Dos Santos handed Miocic his final loss, back in December 2014. A total of 13 of Miocic’s 17 wins have come by KO/TKO.
Ngannou, a 31-year-old from Cameroon, could soon be the biggest name in the game aside from Conor McGregor, if McGregor ever fights again. “The Predator” simply has devastating power — think Mike Tyson in his prime. Ngannou has yet to see the third round in any of his struggles, along with his past four have ended by either KO/TKO or entry in just two minutes of the first round. Ngannou destroyed Overeem in December with a punch, and during his six fights in the UFC Ngannou has landed 1.83 knockdowns per 15 minutes, the maximum rate among rated heavyweights. Miocic, a former NCAA wrestler, will need this battle on the mat. He had been past an underdog vs. Werdum.
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