UFC 220 results: Stipe Miocic schools Francis Ngannou, sets title defense record

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Steven Muehlhausen
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Heading into his UFC 220 main event fight against Francis Ngannou, Stipe Miocic felt the UFC, notably Dana White, wanted Ngannou to win the title. A win for Miocic would break the record for most title defenses in the UFC heavyweight division and cement himself as the greatest heavyweight of all-time. 

Miocic (18-2) crushed the perceptions, decimating Ngannou to win by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-44) to retain the UFC heavyweight championship and break the title record which is now at three. Sporting News also scored the fight 50-44 for Miocic.

"He's (Ngannou) a tough dude," Miocic told Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview. "He hits hard as s—."

MORE: What we learned from UFC 220

After a rough open to the fight when Ngannou was hitting the champion with heavy shots, Miocic rode into history by executing the perfect game plan, neutralizing Ngannou's power by taking him down at will, raining down heavy shots. By the end of the fight, Ngannou had nothing left in the gas tank and Miocic made history.

You could feel the tension when  Miocic was announced as the winner, he took the belt from White, who normally puts it around the champion and had his coach do it instead. 

Miocic didn't want to hear Rogan's talk of him being the greatest heavyweight of all time, as he was more excited in telling the world he was going to be a father than being thought of among the greats in the sport.

Ngannou (11-2) suffered his first UFC loss.

MORE: Brain-scrambling images from UFC 220

(All times Eastern.)

UFC 220: Ngannou vs. Miocic results

12:52: Round 5 to Miocic (10-9, 50-44 Miocic). Miocic stayed away from Ngannou for the majority of the round. Why risk it when you are up four rounds? A great fight by Miocic, who had the perfect game plan, to negate the power of Ngannou. Miocic showed why he's the best heavyweight in the world and the greatest heavyweight of all time. Interesting that Miocic yanked the belt from Dana White, who normally puts the belt around the waist of the champion. 

12:46: Round 4 to Miocic (10-8, 40-35 Miocic). That round was a one-sided beating. Miocic, not taking any chances, went right for the takedown and made sure Ngannou wouldn't get up. He would rest, and anytime referee Herb Dean would tell him to start working, he would start pounding out Ngannou. Agree with what Joe Rogan said at the end of the round, why didn't Miocic try for a submission? He could have finished Ngannou at anytime. Cannot believe we are heading to a fifth and final round.

12:40: Round 3 to Miocic (10-9, 30-27 Miocic). After all the hard work Miocic had put in the first 2 1/2 rounds, Ngannou landed a powerful right hand which wobbled Miocic. But Ngannou didn't have enough energy to capitalize on the situation as Miocic took him back to the ground and landed hard punches at spots for the rest of the round. Ngannou showed he still has the power to win by knockout but Miocic has drained him with much of his energy.

12:34: Round 2 to Miocic (10-9, 20-18 Miocic). Miocic went right back to what worked at the latter half of the first round, straight right hand and the takedown. And once Miocic secured the takedown, he made sure Ngannou wasn't getting up. Doesn't seem like Ngannou knows what to do once he's on the ground. All Miocic here. Wouldn't be shocked if he finishes Ngannou here as he dominated thus far.

12:28: Round 1 to Miocic (10-9). Miocic did exactly what he had to do to combat Ngannou's power. Even though he ate some heavy shots, Miocic was at the end of those shots and weren't as hard. Miocic landed heavy shots of his own and when he took Ngannou down to the mat, the latter looked confused and didn't know what to do. Ngannou is getting exposed right in front of our eyes. Can he bounce back?

12:20: That staredown was one for the ages. Can feel the electricity.

12:15: Huge ovation for Miocic.

12:11: It is time for the main event of UFC 220. Stipe Miocic defends his heavyweight title against No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou. This is the biggest heavyweight title fight since Brock Lesnar faced Frank Mir at UFC 100 in July of 2009. Miocic looks to break the UFC record for the most consecutive title defenses in UFC history at three. A win by the hard-hitting Ngannou and he will become the first African-born fighter to become a UFC champion.

Will Miocic's overall game and big fight experience be too much? Or will Ngannou's power vault himself to become champion?

Cormier defeats Oezdemir to retain UFC light heavyweight title

12:03: Cormier def. Oezdemir by TKO at 2:00 of the second round to retain the light heavyweight title. After nearly finishing off Oezdemir in the first round, Cormier went back to what he nearly won the fight with in the opening round, netting a takedown. Cormier then went to work as he was to transition into a crucifix position and pounded out Oezdemir until the referee saw enough and called the fight.

A great performance by Cormier. He overcame the early rush of Oezdemir, settled into a groove and showed why he's one of the best in the world. Cormier showed there's a huge gap between him, Jones and Alexander Gustafsson. Refreshing to hear Cormier do a promo and not hear him challenge Jon Jones. We should see Cormier have a rematch with Gustafsson. Oezdemir has nothing to be ashamed of. He will learn from the experience and come back better than ever.

11:58: Round 1 to Cormier (10-9). An entertaining opening round. Oezdemir came out trying to live up to his prediction and finish Cormier early. Cormier survived the early onslaught. Cormier came back and started landing hard right hands which you started to swelling under the right eye of Oezdemir. Near the end of the round, Cormier scored a takedown and secured a rear-naked choke. Oezdemir was saved by the bell. Oezdemir looked defeated walking back to his corner. Anyone else the favoritism of Jon Anik and Dominick Cruz

11:44: A good ovation for Oezdemir and a thunderous ovation for Cormier. Time to grab the food and drinks. Wonder if Jon Jones is watching this evening?

11:40: In the co-main event of UFC 220, for the UFC light heavyweight championship, Daniel Cormier defends his title against No. 2 ranked Volkan Oezdemir. Cormier is coming off a no-contest against Jon Jones at UFC 214. Jones had won by third-round knockout but failed a a drug test and got stripped of the title with the belt going back to Cormier. 

Oezdemir's won his first three UFC fights including his last two in a total of 70 seconds over Misha Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa. 

Calvin Kattar beats Shane Burgos

11:35: Kattar def. Burgos by TKO at 0:32 of the third round. Entertaining first round from Burgos and Kattar. They stood in close range of each other and traded punches and kicks. Kattar held a slight advantage as his shots were a bit more crisp. Burgos came out more aggressive in the second round. He continued to stalk and increased his volume of punches which busted Kattar's nose and started to mix up his striking as the round came to a close. 

11:15: Coming up at UFC 220, in featherweight action, Shane Burgos fights Calvin Kattar. Burgos is undefeated in 10 fights including three fights in the UFC with eight of those wins by stoppage. Kattar comes in on a winning streak of his own as he's won nine consecutive fights. He defeated Andre Fili by unanimous decision in his UFC debut at UFC 214. A great fight between two highly touted prospects.

Gian Villante dominates Francimar Barroso 

11:10: Villante def. Barroso by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27). Villante controlled the first round using heavy right hands and thunderous leg kicks. He really kept Barroso at bay who didn't do too much until the final moments of the round by connecting on a series of leg kicks. We saw much of the same in the second round from Villante. He walked Barroso down throughout the round using his left and right hands with an occasional leg kick to keep Barroso guessing. The third round was a carbon copy of the first two rounds with the crowd booing for some reason after the fight ended. 

Don't know what the judge was looking at in giving Barroso two rounds and the fight. Hopefully, they aren't judging the rest of the night. Villante stuck to his game plan by doing what he does best, staying in your face and applying constant pressure. Barroso had perhaps one of the worst game plans I have seen in a long time. Down on two of the three scorecards, he was content on the outside throwing leg kicks and one punch at a time instead of coming at Villante with combinations. Good win for Villante to get back on track. The division is thin. If he could muster another win or two, he could be in line to be the No. 1 contender.

10:40: Up next at UFC 220, in light heavyweight action, No. 15 ranked Gian Villante goes up against Francimar Barroso. Villante, who possesses 10 wins by knockout in his 15 career victories has his back is against the wall as he's lost two of his last three fights. An interesting nugget is Villante has former middleweight champion Chris Weidman in his corner. Barroso's split his last three fights going 1-1 with one no-contest. Out of Barroso's 19 career victories, 11 of them have come in the first round. Villante and Barroso leave it all in the cage and should be another barnburner.

Rob Font defeats Thomas Almeida

10:33: Font def. Almeida by TKO at 2:24 of the second round. In the first round, Font came out blazing, coming right at Almeida with punches and kicks. Almeida looked to overwhelmed but calmed down and bounced back by mixing up his punches and kicks. Font came out like a man on a mission to begin the second round. It all started with a straight right hand which sent Almeida tumbling and Font tried to finish it off but Almeida was able to survive. Was only a matter of time before Font would finish him off. Started with a right hand to the temple which stunned Almeida. Seizing the opportunity, Font landed another right hand, a head kick which had Almeida out on his feet and a series of uppercuts to send Almeida to the mat. Referee Herb Dean had seen enough and stopped the fight.

Great performance by Font. It was the best showing of his UFC career. He will vault himself into the top 10 in the UFC rankings and should get a higher ranked opponent when makes his return. A hard loss for Almeida. The 26-year-old has now lost three of his last four. May be time for him to reevaluate. A fight or two outside the UFC would do him some good so he can regain his confidence.

10:15: Kicking off the main card of UFC 220, in bantamweight action, No. 10 ranked Thomas Almeida battles No. 14 ranked Rob Font. After a strong start to his MMA career, winning his first 21 fights, Almeida's lost two of his last three fights. Font, a Massachusetts native comes into the contest winning two of his last three fights but suffered a first-round submission loss to Pedro Munhoz at UFC Fight Night 119. Almeida and Font throw leather like heavyweights. A great way to kickoff the pay-per-portion of UFC 220. 

10:08: Great stat by Jon Anik in saying the last time the heavyweight title and light heavyweight title were defended on the same show was  back at UFC 92 in Dec. 2008 when Rashad Evans won the 205-pound title against Forest Griffin and Frank Mir captured the interim heavyweight title from Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. Shows how far the UFC and MMA has grown since that time.

9:57: Bochniak def. Davis by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). Shocked two of the judges cards gave Davis a round as Bochniak had control of the entire fight. Constant movement was the key for Bochniak. He went in and out with punches, kicks and then went try for a takedown. Best performance in Bochniak's short UFC tenure which appeared to be fueled in competing in his hometown. Bochniak can now breath a sign of relief as he saved his job. the pay-per-view portion of the card begins at the top of the hour.

9:30: In the headlining preliminary fight at UFC 220, in featherweight action, Kyle Bochniak goes up against Brandon Davis. Bochniak, fighting in his hometown of Boston has struggled in his three UFC fights, losing two of three. Davis, who like a lot of the fighters on tonight's card fought on the Dana White Contender Series show rolls into his UFC debut winning seven consecutive series. Will the hometown support help Bochniak a much needed victory?

9:18: Razak Alhassan def. Homasi by knockout at 3:47 of the first round. Razak Alhassan left no doubt this time on who the winner really was. The fight looked to be on it's way a "Fight of the Night" with both Razak Alhassan and Homasi going toe-to-toe and leaving it all out there. Then, Razak Alhassan landed a flush right uppercut down the middle to knockout Homasi at impact. Didn't like Razak Alhassan standing over Homasi and talking trash after the fact. Take your victory, do the nice backflip you did and go back to your corner. Took a little bit of shine away from a spectacular knockout. Razak Alhassan has now won eight of his nine career fights.

9:05: Coming up next at UFC 220, in welterweight action, Abdul Razak Alhassan faces Sabah Homasi. Razak Alhassan and Homasi fought at UFC 218 with Razak Alhassan winning by a controversial first-round TKO. Razak Alhassan had appeared to hit Homasi with a vicious body shot and referee Herb Dean thought Homasi was knocked out. But that wasn't the case, as replays showed Homasi actually going for a takedown. Give Razak Alhassan credit as he could have taken the victory and went on to bigger and better things. The first fight was on its way to "Fight of the Night" and expect to see the same here.

8:59: Ortiz def. Pantoja by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Very close fight. The fight came down to the final 90 seconds as Pantoja dominated the first round which he controlled the fight on ground for 4 1/2 minutes. Ortiz won the second by mixing it up with his strikes and his wrestling to take down Ortiz. Pantoja looked to be on his way to victory when he took down Ortiz down in the early part of the third round. He kept Ortiz on the mat for 3 1/2 minutes but really didn't do too much with his position and that cost him the fight. Ortiz got back to the feet with 90 seconds left and threw everything but the kitchen sink and a late takedown was enough to bring home the victory. Ortiz put himself in the conversation at 125 pounds, winning three of his last four fights.

8:33: Up next at UFC 220, in flyweight action, No. 10 ranked Dustin Ortiz faces No. 11 ranked Alexandre Pantoja. Ortiz's won two of his last fights including his most recent outing' a 15-second knockout over Hector Sandoval back in August at UFC Fight Night 114. Pantoja's on a tear, having won 11 consecutive fights including his two UFC contests. A huge fight in a flyweight division where one victory can vault you in the rankings.

8:30: Arce def. Ige by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). Great performance by Arce. He controlled the entire fight and neutralized everything Ige tried to throw at him. He stuffed every takedown and made Ige become a striker which you could tell the latter didn't feel comfortable doing. While Arce still has a lot to work on to become a complete mixed martial artist, he made a very good accounting of himself in his UFC debut.

8:05: Kicking off the UFC 220 prelims on Fox Sports 1, in featherweight action, Dan Ige battles Julio Arce. This is a battle guys coming from the Dana White Contender Series and are making their UFC debuts. Ige comes in having won six consecutive fights and Arce is riding a five-win streak. Someone's run is about to end. Always enjoy fights with fighters making their debuts as more often than not, they leave it all inside the cage.

7:58: Barzola def. Bessette by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). The fight was determined by the leg kicks the takedowns from Barzola. Bessette controlled the striking in the first round and then Barzola went to work in the last two rounds. Give Bessette credit for making weight and competing hard for all 15 minutes. It's now three consecutive wins for Barzola. An intriguing prospect whose getting better in each performance.

7:30: In the final contest on Fight Pass, in featherweight action, Enrique Barzola goes up against Matt Bessette. Barzola is the season two winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America has won back-to-back-fights. Bessette, who accepted the fight on nine days notice got a great ovation from the crowd is making his UFC debut after 30 career fights. He was on Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender and is unbeaten in his last eight fights (7-0-1). 

7:25: The featured fight on Fight Pass begins in about five minutes. 

7:15: Makhachev def. Tibau by knockout at 0:57 of the first round. The American Kickboxing Academy product did what many didn't expect. He feignted a right hand and a straight overhand left which sent Tibau packing to the canvas. A great job by referee Dan Miragliotta who noticed Tibau was out cold when he hit the mat. That's three consecutive wins for Makhachev who demanded a top-15 opponent in his next fight. Agree with Dominick Cruz when he gave Makhachev credit for speaking English in his interview even though it is his second language. Most fighters in that position wold with what they are comfortable with. To get over in the United States, you need to speak English.

7:05: UFC 220 kicks off on Fight Pass, in lightweight action, Islam Makhachev faces Gleison Tibau. Makhachev is a fantastic grappler and has won three of his four fights inside the octagon. A lot of questions surround Tibau as he returns after a two-year USADA suspension. Lot of people think Makhachev is a future title contender and gets a stiff fight against the 26-fight UFC veteran.

5:15: We are less than two hours away until the first fight begins at 7. If you need to get more excited about tonight's card, here's the bone-chilling UFC 220 trailer. This was the best video the UFC has done in recent memory.

 

11:10: Hello, fight fans, I'm Steven Muehlhausen of Sporting News. In a few hours, UFC 220 will commence from the TD Garden in Boston featuring a world championship main event as Stipe Miocic looks to make history when he defends the heavyweight title against rising contender Francis Ngannou. The co-main event is another title fight as Daniel Cormier defends the light heavyweight championship against Volkan Oezdemir.

UFC 220 fight card

Main card

  • Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou for Miocic's UFC Heavyweight Title
  • Daniel Cormier vs. Volkan Oezdemir for Cormier's UFC Light Heavyweight Title
  • Calvin Kattar vs. Shane Burgos; Featherweight
  • Bantamweight Thomas Almeida vs. Rob Font; Bantamweight 
  • Gian Villante vs. Francimar Barroso; Light Heavyweight 

Preliminary card

  • Kyle Bochniak vs. Brandon Davis; Featherweight 
  • Dustin Ortiz vs. Alexandre Pantoja; Flyweight 
  • Islam Makhachev vs. Gleison Tibau; Lightweight 
  • Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Sabah Homasi; Welterweight 
  • Dan Ige vs. Julio Arce; Featherweight
  • Enrique Barzola vs. Matt Bessette; Featherweight

UFC 220 latest news

- Who wins the key fights at UFC 220? We give you our predictions .

- Daniel Cormier  tells SN why he's fighting for himself and not the fans.

- Francis Ngannou  explains to SN why he's ready to seize the moment and win the heavyweight championship.

- Volkan Oezdemir  tells SN why he's ready to become the light heavyweight champion. 

- Why  Miocic vs. Ngannou will be the pinnacle of 2018 for the UFC.

- Don't know too much about UFC 220? We give you a breakdown of the card.  

Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can listen to his podcast, "The Fight Club Chicago," here . You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA .

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Steven Muehlhausen

Steven Muehlhausen is a contributing writer for DAZN News. He writes features and news stories, and provides analysis relating to the world of boxing.