Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier remain the UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champions, respectively. The pair defended their belts in the co-main and main event of UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou, both dominating their opponents.
Miocic bested Francis Ngannou in a five-round decision that was entirely one-sided. Ngannou punched all of his gas tank out in the first round, and Miocic coasted to an easy decision. Ngannou didn’t even have a strike landed in the fourth round.
Cormier secured a second-round TKO over Volkan Oezdemir, and up-and-comer who had very little to offer the champion.
Ngannou landed the first hard shot, a big uppercut that stunned Miocic and a quick finish looked likely, albeit briefly. Miocic recovered though, and started to land big shots himself. He also secured a pair of takedowns in the first, and Ngannou looked exhausted after just one round.
Miocic piled on from there, keeping his weight on top of Ngannou for the second and third round, easily winning both rounds. Ngannou landed a very big right hand in the third that stunned Miocic, but he was quickly put on his back, where he spent the rest of the round. Then it was just coasting from there.
Oezdemir was more active in the first, landing several short shots, particularly with his left hand. But Cormier didn’t absorb much damage. What he did do was throw a lot of heavy shots that did not land, until the final minute, when he stunned Oezdemir with a pair of hooks. He nearly secured rear-naked choke finish, but Oezdemir was saved by the bell in the first.
In the second, Cormier piled on, and secured the takedown, and the TKO finish. He remains undefeated in fights against people not named Jon Jones. It will be interesting to see where he goes next — perhaps a fight with Alexander Gustafsson.
There were two knockouts on the prelims, the fiirst when lightweight Islam Makhachev scored a first-round stoppage of Gleison Tibau. The second came when welterweight Abdul Razak Alhassan bested Sabah Homasi, also inside of the first round.
In the first main card bout, Thomas Almeida and Rob Font had a very back-and-forth first round, but Font took control of the fight when he landed a stiff right hand that stunned his opponent. Almeida lasted another minute or so after that punch, but was ultimately stopped by a strong right uppercut followed by a head kick from Font.
Following that, Gian Villante and Francimar Barroso went there rounds, with the former winning via split decision. Villante simply walked through the best Barroso could throw at him, and landed the more significant strikes throughout the affair, which was entirely on the feet.
The undefeated Shane Burgos can no longer be called that, as he was finished in the third round after some huge uppercuts from Calvin Kattar. Burgos definitely lost the first round, but was picking up momentum in the second and arguably took that round. Kattar didn’t let it get to the judges, however, and earned himself a fantastic win.
Below are the round-by-round recaps from the main card as they happened from our play-by-play, and below that is a full list of results from UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou.
Stipe Miocic def. Francis Ngannou via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-44)
Round 1: Ngannou just misses with a big high kick, and Miocic goes for the takedown. He secures it briefly, but Ngannou pops right back up with his back to the fence. They separate, and Ngannou takes a big overhand swing that misses. He lands a glancing blow with the same punch not long after. He then connects with a right hook and a short left. Miocic is having trouble handling the pressure early. Right hook over the top from MIocic lands hard on the side of the head. They slow it down a little and measure eachother up. Left jab followed by a big right straight to the jaw from Miocic. Overhand right stuns Ngannou briefly. Ngannou throws a body punch and Miocic secures a takedown, getting on top in side control. Miocic takes his time, postures up, and connects with a couple big shots. He tries to hook in a guillotine, but loses it and Ngannou gets up. Right hand from Miocic lands on the jaw. Ngannou has his hands down, and he’s looking a little slower. Miocic lands flush with some more punches, and connects on a takedown as the round ends.
Round 2: Ngannou looks exhausted. Miocic took some damage in the first, but he’s taking his time in the second. He knows he has a deeper gas tank, and he doesn’t want to eat a powerful shot. Two minutes into the round, a big right hook lands that stuns Ngannou, who has his hands down the whole time. Miocic shoots and gets the takedown. He has Ngannou’s back with both on their knees. Miocic puts all his weight on Ngannou, draining his gas tank slowly. Knee to the body from Miocic. The round ends.
Round 3: Miocic gets Ngannou up against the fence, and again exerts all his weight on him. He gets him on the ground again, and olds his weight on them. After awhile, they get back up, and Ngannou lands a nice shot that catches Miocic by surprise. Any shot from such a big man can be devastating, so Miocic quickly goes for a takedown and gets on top in half guard. He starts with the ground-and-pound, heavy shots right to the head, but Ngannou is doing just enough to keep himself protected. Big right hands with Ngannou on the ground and partially against the fence. The round comes to an end.
Round 4: Ngannou looks awfully tired, still. Miocic is very quick to duck under a slow punch, securing another takedown right into side control. Ngannou gives up his back, and Miocic throws big underhands right into the side of his head. More big left hands from Miocic with both fighters on their knees against the fence. Big punches to the body. The round comes to an end with both fighters exhausted.
Round 5: Ngannou looks like he can barely stand at the start of this round. Miocic ducks under a right hook, and pushes Ngannou into the fence. The referee separates them after a couple minutes or no action. Miocic seems not quite as tired as Ngannou, but it almost seems like he feels bad about the punishment he’s putting on Ngannou, who is offering literally nothing in he way of offense. The fight comes to an end, and it should be Miocic in every round.
Daniel Cormier def. Volkan Oezdemir via TKO (punches) 2:00 of Round 2
Round 1: Oezdemir throws a big overhand right that Cormier ducks under. Short left from Oezdemir lands as Cormier ducks low. Cormier ties up and tries to get a takedown, but Oezdemir gets away from it. Short left from Oezdemir lands again as Cormier steps aside. Cormier’s back is to the fence and Oezdemir throws several short punches, but nothing heavy lands. Overhand right by Cormier misses, as does the follow-up left. They tie up, and Cormier just misses a big uppercut as they separate. Cormier fakes one way and lands a big shot that stuns Oezdemir. It was really heavy, and he lands another one. Oezdemir wings a wild hook that lands and gives Cormier pause, giving himself time to recover. Clinch uppercut from Cormier, followed by a right hook to the cheek. Cormier, with under a minute to go, drags Oezdemir to the ground for a takedown, gets on his back, and locks in a rear-naked choke! But the clock runs out, and Oezdemir survives.
Round 2: Cormier throws a left hand that glances, and uses it as an opportunity to go for the takedown. He gets Oezdemir’s leg high and yanks it out from under him. He followed him down to the top, taking side control, where he starts laying down some big ground-and-pound. Oezdemir takes unanswered shots for nearly a full minute before the referee steps in and stops the action.
Calvin Kattar def. Shane Burgos via TKO (punches) at 0:32 of Round 3
Round 1: The two throw short jabs for the first minute or so, finding their range. Kattar connects with a nice hook to the body, and he lands with a right straight, and then a left hand over the top. Burgos smiles, but he ate to good shots there. Nice kick to the body from Burgos. Burgos eith a left ab that lands hard. Kattar with a good shot ot the body. Kattar connects with a nice leg kick. Short three-punch combo from Burgos lands on the head. Right straight from Kattar connects on the jaw. Two hooks to the body from Burgos. Two hard left jabs from Kattar land rigt on the forehead.
Round 2: Kattar lands some more jabs, hard jabs that Burgos can’t avoid. Burgos did land a nice leg kick as a counter, something he needs to do more. Two left jabs from Kattar land flush. Kattar lands three more short punches. They aren’t hard, but they’re doing damage. Nice pair of right hooks to the head from Burgos, then a left to the body, then a left leg kick. Right hand to the body from Burgos. Despite eating all the big shots early in the round, Burgos really picked up momentum in the final minutes, landing several three-punch combos and changing levels well.
Round3: Burgos has the momentum, but Kattar totally stuns him with a stutter step off the one-two punch, throwing off Burgos and allowing him to land the big right overhand. A right uppercut sends Burgos down to the mat. Kattar swarms, delivering shots from the top, and the referee stops the fight.
Gian Villante def. Francimar Barroso via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Round 1: Villante connects with a hard right hand to the head right away, and then misses a big body kick. Barroso tries a very hard right leg kick, and Villante connects with a hard right hand again. Right uppercut from Villante lands and Barroso is backing up. Villante walks him down, eating a leg kick in the process. High kick from Villante misses. Barroso wanted a spinning back fist, but he eats a big leg kick for his troubles. Leg kick from Barroso lands. Villante tries to tee off in the final seconds, and may have landed a right hand in the flurry.
Round 2: Barroso’s corner tells him to go to the body in this round, and he lands a nice shot to the body right away. But Villante puts a hard left hand on the jaw that stumbles Barroso. Villante connects with a straight right, and he’s smiling. Barroso does recover though, and the fight is stopped briefly when Villante connects with a low blow while going for a leg kick. Barroso also connected with a hard punch as Villante threw the kick. Left uppercut from Barroso just misses. Overhand right from Villante lands, and Barroso stumbles. It seems like Barroso is just way too inactive in this fight, he’s letting Villante land whatever he wants. Villante, though, is taking some deep breaths.
Round 3: Leg kick from Barroso lands and he eats a one-two punch combo from Villante for his troubles. Villante comes in with a right overhand that misses and he eats a huge knee to the body from Barroso. Villante walks through a left hand to the jaw and stumbles Barroso with a lead left of his own. Barroso has landed good shots in the round, but he’s not following any of them up. Villante is tired, but he’s walking through all the big punches. Barroso connects with a huge right hook, and Villante shrugs it off. They exchange hard shots through the end of the round. It should be Villante’s fight, but neither threatened a finish.
Rob Font def. Thomas Almeida via TKO (punches and kicks) 2:24 of Round 2
Round 1: Font quickly gets Almeida up against the fence and tries to work a takedown. He can’t get it, and they separate. Font swings two big hooks that just miss, and Almeida tries to throw his own hard punch. They are throwing very hard early in the first round. Font misses with a right uppercut, and blocks a right head kick. Left leg kick from Almeida. Overhand right from Almeida glances off. Almeida is starting to find his range here, and he’s connecting. Font misses with a front kick. Left hook lands on the cheek from Almeida.
Round 2: More of the same to start this round, with Font trying to land and Almeida defending well — until he doesn’t! Font connects with a hard right hand and Almeida is stunned. Font swarms and tries to finish, but Almeida ties up. Font separates, and lands another big right hand. Almeida isn’t out of the woods yet. Almeida tries to throw his own combo, and eats another right hand to the jaw. Font tries a takedown, but Almeida gets right back to his feet. Font lands a big right uppercut, followed by a head kick and then another uppercut, and another, and Almeida goes down! The referee stops the fight!
UFC 220 full fight card results
Main Card
Heavyweight: Stipe Miocic def. Francis Ngannou via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-44)
Light Heavyweight: Daniel Cormier def. Volkan Oezdemir via TKO (punches) 2:00 of Round 2
Featherweight: Calvin Kattar def. Shane Burgos via TKO (punches) at 0:32 of Round 3
Light Heavyweight: Gian Villante def. Francimar Barroso via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Bantamweight: Rob Font def. Thomas Almeida via TKO (head kick and punches) 2:24 of Round 2
Preliminary Card
Featherweight: Kyle Bochniak def. Brandon Davis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Welterweight: Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Sabah Homasi via KO (punch) at 3:47 of Round 1
Flyweight: Dustin Ortiz def. Alexandre Pantoja via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight: Julio Arce def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Featherweight: Enrique Barzola def. Matt Bessette via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Lightweight: Islam Makhachev def. Gleison Tibau via KO (punch) at 0:57 of Round 1