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UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou breakdown and analysis

Roar Rookie
20th January, 2018
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Francis Ngannou, left, hits Alistair Overeem in the first round during a UFC 218 heavyweight mixed martial arts bout, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez, File)
Roar Rookie
20th January, 2018
0

The Heavyweight Championship of the world has long been the most coveted title in combat sports, whether it’s boxing, kickboxing, or MMA.

However the UFC’s heavyweight division has drawn criticism in recent times, with many citing a lack of emerging talent causing the division grow stale.

That perception could all change this weekend at UFC 220, as Stipe Miocic defends his title against the division’s fastest–rising contender Francis Ngannou.

Being touted by many as one of the most compelling heavyweight fights of all time, there are two distinct storylines leading into the match–up.

While a win for Miocic will break the record for most consecutive UFC Heavyweight title defences (three), Ngannou is riding the mother of all hype trains coming off his knockout of Alistair Overeem.

But will the hype be enough?

Miocic’s skillset revolves around rock-solid fundamentals, mixing up his strikes and tempo to keep his opponents guessing.

Perhaps the finest example of this was in his fight against Mark Hunt, where Miocic put on a mixed martial arts clinic.

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Knowing that Hunt was trying to land his patented counter–left hook, Miocic went back and forth between feinting the jab, popping the jab out halfway, and fully extending it.

This kept Hunt constantly reacting and guessing whether he was countering a real strike or a feint, and often left him swinging at thin air.

Lead–hand feints have been the common theme in Miocic’s best performances, and brought him much success in his fights against Werdum and Dos Santos.

While Ngannou is being touted as the knockout artist in this contest, Miocic arguably has a more impressive knockout resume than the challenger.

His right hand has proved to be his most potent weapon, often firing it over his opponents left punches and catching them mid–combination.

The champion’s wrestling is also a crucial element to his game, both for controlling where the fight takes place and opening up opportunities to strike.

Miocic’s takedowns predominately come as a counter to his opponent’s strikes, ducking under their punches and taking the fight to the mat.

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So not only are his opponents second–guessing when they’re defending, but even when attacking they don’t know whether a counter is coming in the form of a strike or takedown.

With Ngannou however, it’s no secret what his game plan is – he’s trying to use his brutal punching power to knock his opponent through the roof.

Francis Ngannou, left, hits Alistair Overeem in the first round during a UFC 218 heavyweight mixed martial arts bout, in Detroit.

(AP Photo/Jose Juarez, File)

His rise from obscurity to world championship is almost unprecedented, with all six of his UFC fights ending in six finishes.

Ngannou hasn’t shown himself to be the type of striker to overwhelm opponents with volume, pace, or an educated jab.

His overarching natural attribute is his striking power, so he makes the most of this by throwing shorter, explosive combinations.

These combinations don’t tend to come in the form of traditional boxing angles, as we’ve seen Ngannou have great success with the often maligned ‘shovel hook’.

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A shovel hook comes up on a diagonal angle, as opposed to the more traditional vertically aimed uppercut or horizontal western boxing hook.

While often viewed as just an ‘arm punch’, if done correctly a shovel hook can generate more force than both of these punches.

The shovel hook utilises the body rotation of a hook, but also gains the momentum of an uppercut as it comes up towards the opponent’s head.

In terms of his grappling, Ngannou is still a relatively untested, but in the few times we’ve seen him taken down, he’s shown the ability to get back to his feet.

Against Curtis Blaydes we saw him use an under–hook to stand up from bottom side control, and then against Anthony Hamilton he used double–butterflies to explode off his back, and yank Hamilton to the ground with a kimura.

In Ngannou’s fight against Overeem, he was able to control the former K1 world champion in the clinch with ease, so trying to pin him against the fence may not be the best idea either.

In terms of avenues to victory, there are certainly tactics that both men could employ.

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Miocic has shown a lack of ring awareness at times, tending to follow his opponents who have used lot’s of footwork, rather than cutting them off.

Against Miocic and Overeem, we saw him get dropped by coming forward unintelligently, walking himself into strikes.

Ngannou has shown the ability to knock his opponents out while moving backwards as well, so a movement heavy strategy may be something for him to consider.

In terms of the challenger’s weaknesses, it’s mostly speculative at this point, as we haven’t really seen him face any adversity inside the cage.

Ngannou does have the tendency to throw all of his weight into his punches, which could leave him vulnerable for the takedown.

Particularly when he’s throwing his shovel hook and his bodyweight comes up, Miocic would be wise to drop under the punches and shoot for the takedown.

This type of match¬–up is what the heavyweight division has been crying out for; a compelling challenger who’s shown next to no weaknesses, going up against a champion who’s battle–tested against the elite of the division.

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If Ngannou doesn’t get the knockout early, the contest will answer a lot of questions about the challenger.

How will his cardio look in the fourth and fifth round? How will he react if Miocic keeps putting him on his back? How will his chin hold up if the champion lands cleanly?

Or Ngannou may land cleanly in the first 60 seconds, score a knockout to claim the title, and then we still have the same unanswered questions.

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