Stipe Miocic is still the UFC Heavyweight Champion and is now the Greatest Heavyweight Fighter in UFC history after beating Daniel Cormier via Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46 and 48-47) in UFC 252.
The two legendary fighters finished their trilogy in an amazing five round bout that could be arguably be in the top five best fights in the UFC Heavyweight division history.
It was a great fight and a great way for Cormier to retire from the hurt business. But for Miocic, life goes on and he will have to defend his title again at some point in the future. He’ll be waiting a while, though, as he has to have his eye cleared by retinal specialist before he fights again thanks to an eye poke in the rubber match.
This got me thinking, who should be the next guy to challenge the UFC Heavyweight GOAT for the title?
Here are my top three picks on who should be next for Miocic?
HONORABLE MENTION:
Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Top 3 – Derrick Lewis (24Ws – 7Ls – 1NC)
Derrick Lewis has made a hell of a bounce back after suffering two straight losses at the hands of Cormier and Junior Dos Santos.
The Black Beast is currently on a three fight win-streak with his latest win coming via TKO against Alexey Oleinik in the Main Event of UFC Fight Night 174, where he set the record for Most Knockouts in UFC Heavyweight history with 11 out of his 15 UFC fights.
The last time Lewis fought for the Heavyweight title was back in November of 2018 against Cormier in UFC 230, where he lost via submission in the second round.
Now, with tons of momentum on his side and with his plans of cutting weight, it could be time to see the Black Beast again in the octagon fighting for the title.
Lewis’ heavy punches, great ground and pound game and tough heart will surely be a great challenge for Miocic’s world class striking.
Top 2 – Curtis Blaydes (14Ws – 2Ls – 1NC)
Curtis Blaydes has been on a tear since entering the UFC, winning nine out of his 11 matches with five wins coming via KO/TKO.
The 29-year-old Blaydes only has two losses on his professional career, and both came at the hands of Francis Ngannou via KO. But despite his losses he has proven that his great wrestling game and heavy ground and pound is enough for him to bounce back and get on the winning track once again.
After losing to Ngannou in his debut match, Blaydes went on a five-fight win-streak before being stopped by Ngannou again in their rematch in UFC Fight Night 144; he bounced back once more and is currently on a four-match win-streak with his latest win coming via a Unanimous Decision against Alexander Volkov last June.
Blaydes has brutal wins over some of the top guys in the division. He showered Junior Dos Santos with punches, he obliterated Alistair Overeem with some of the nastiest elbows I’ve ever seen, and he did the same with Shamil Abdurakhimov. He also set a UFC Heavyweight record in his Unanimous Decision over Volkov by taking him down 14 times out of his 25 attempts.
The number three ranked Heavyweight fighter in the UFC has undoubtedly proven that he can hang with and conquer the best fighters in the division. His wrestling game and heavy hands are forces to be reckon with.
A title bout between “The Razor” Blaydes and Miocic will surely be a must see considering Blaydes is looking like a fighter that has the power of Ngannou and Cormier, two men that Miocic conquered in the past.
Top 1- Francis Ngannou (15Ws – 3Ls)
If you ask me, this is now the right time to see Ngannou-Miocic II for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
The last time both men faced each other, Miocic got the better of Ngannou and it seems to have a huge negative effect on him as he went on to lose his next bout against Lewis via Unanimous Decision as he seemed to have lost his confidence to throw his heavy punches during and after his fight with Miocic.
But now The Predator is back on track and has been sending fighter after fighter to oblivion with his heavy punches.
Ngannou is on a four-fight win-streak all coming from KO/TKO.
The 33-year-old got back on the winning track after knocking out Blaydes in their rematch. He then took out the great, Cain Velasquez in 26 seconds, and followed it up by a beautiful TKO win over Dos Santos. In his most recent win, Ngannou gave UFC fans one of the most brutal KO punches to finish off Jairzinho Rozenstruik in just 20 seconds in UFC 249.
Now that Ngannou is back in his usual Predator form and with Miocic being crowned as the UFC Heavyweight GOAT. It is a must to see these two go at it again in the next Heavyweight Title fight.
