UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic doesn't think his rematch against Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 will go much different than it did at UFC 220 — Fightful has you covered on what the baddest man in the world had to say about the rematch and other news from around the world of combat sports.
Stipe Miocic Comments On Francis Ngannou Rematch
Rewind to 2018, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic defends his title against the most intimidating individual in MMA history...Francis Ngannou.
Fast forward 25-minutes later and Miocic was not only still conscious (unlike previous Ngannou opponents) but still as the UFC heavyweight champion after a dominant unanimous decision victory. Since then, Miocic has gone through a back-and-forth trilogy with Daniel Cormier and other than an odd outing against Derrick Lewis, Ngannou has absolutely destroyed everyone standing in front of him.
UFC 260 will mark the rematch of the two behemoths, a rematch that the champion doesn't see going any differently than before.
“He’s been knocking everyone out again and he’s on a tear," Miocic told Renee Paquette on her "Oral Sessions" podcast. "Unfortunately he’s going to have to fight me again. That’s the bad part. He’s definitely gotten better, but so have I."
“I know I’m getting old, but I’ve gotten wiser and I’ve got a few new tricks up my sleeve," said Miocic. "They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, which is a lie. I’ve learned a lot since the last couple years ago. It’s the same outcome. I’m going to walk out with the belt around my waist: and still.”
Krzysztof Soszynski Claims Psychedelic Drugs Helped Brain In Post-Fight Career
Former UFC veteran Krzysztof Soszynski hasn't fought in nearly a decade and has suffered a half-dozen knockout losses in his 40-fight professional career.
The Polish-born Soszynski said a few years after his final fight, he began to have issues with memory-loss which he felt forced his hand into trying to remedy the issue.
“Don’t get me wrong – the knees are pretty bad, (but) the mind is very strong still,” Soszynski told MMA Junkie.
“So I’m very happy – I don’t have any of these crazy symptoms that a lot of these (former fighters) are having," said Soszynski. "I have been working with a lot of doctors and people who are in that field to help me regenerate all the tissues and connective tissues with my brain. So I’m very happy with all the peptides and things like that that I’m taking, supplements and things like that."
“I’m not dealing with all of these major issues like some of these fighters," Soszynski proclaimed. "Plus, I feel like I left (fighting) at the right time. My brain told me stop fighting. My family told me it was time to stop fighting. And I said yes, it’s time to stop fighting. I’m very fortunate to stop at the right time and continue on living an amazing life. I’m 43 years old and I feel like … it’s Chapter 2 – a brand new journey, and I’m having a blast doing it.”
“I have been doing some self-(medication) – LSD micro-dosing, and micro-dosing some psilocybin mushrooms and things like that on a very, very small scale,” Soszynski said. “I’ve been doing that for quite a while. And to be honest, I just had my first ayahuasca experience, and all those things are absolutely amazing. They definitely make you see the world in a different way – very small, minuscule differences, but you feel happier, you feel more energized, you feel like you want to get up and do things."
Beneil Dariush Brought To Tears By UFC Award
Surging UFC lightweight contender Beneil Dariush has been on the run of his career, winning five consecutive bouts, including a wild comeback knockout of Drakkar Klose at UFC 248.
Ahead of his UFC Vegas 18 bout against Diego Ferreira, the promotion awarded Dariush with the craziest moment of the year award for the aforementioned knockout of Klose.
This one means everything.
— UFC (@ufc) February 4, 2021
This afternoon, @BeneilDariush accepted his Comeback of the Year award--
[ -- #UFCHonors presented by @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/9FwMLEm5QR
Javier Mendez Says Khabib Nurmagomedov Hasn't Hit Peak Of Career
Recently-retired UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach Javier Mendez claims that his pupil hasn't yet hit the peak of his athletic career, despite deciding to retire.
Despite numerous attempts to change his mind from UFC President Dana White, "The Eagle" seems to be happy to ride off into the sunset with an unblemished 29-0 record.
The aforementioned Mendez says Khabib is happy with his decision but if he were to make a comeback, he has plenty left in the tank:
“He was just starting to get into the groove where he was starting to feel a little bit comfortable kicking,” Mendez told MMA Junkie. “He’s still not fluent with the kicking, but he was effective as you saw with the Justin fight. So no, he had so much more to go as far as his stand up. The ground, well, I’ve never seen anybody better than him on the ground. He’s the best that’s ever been on the ground in MMA. But, in regards to his improvement scale, yeah he has a lot more growth and he’s still young enough, 32. So yeah he still has a lot of years left. Could be four if he wanted, but unfortunately, that’s not gonna be on the cards.”
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