Francis Ngannou Taking Time Off From Fighting Following Loss to Stipe Miocic
Francis Ngannou needs a break.
The hulking heavyweight knockout artist suffered his first UFC loss this past weekend when he dropped a lopsided decision to heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in his first title fight since joining the promotion in 2016.
Ngannou enjoyed a meteoric rise up the ranks considering he’s been fighting in the UFC for less than two years and he earned his title shot after nearly taking off Alistair Overeem’s head last December in their bout at UFC 218.
Less than two months later, Ngannou was facing the best heavyweight in the world but unfortunately his conditioning and ground game weren’t on par with Miocic and it cost him dearly.
Now following that setback, Ngannou says he’s looking at taking some time off to go home, spend time with friends and family before resetting himself and returning to the UFC in 2018.
“In my dark way, I’m taking some time off which will benefit my personal life by going back home to enjoy family and friends,” Ngannou wrote on Thursday. “Then I’ll be back to set businesses up.”
In my dark way, I'm taking some time off which will benefit my personal life by going back home to enjoy family and friends . Then I'll be back to set businesses up #relaxation #familytime
— Francis NGannou (@francis_ngannou) January 25, 2018
Obviously, Ngannou didn’t mention how long he planned to sit on the sidelines but considering he just went through back to back fight camps that culminated in the five round war with Miocic it would be completely understandable if he took off a few months to rest and recover.
There will be no shortage of opponents for Ngannou when he makes his return as he’s still ranked as the No. 1 heavyweight contender in the division so there will undoubtedly be a list of fighters ready to welcome him back later this year.
