Last Saturday, Stipe Miocic made his controversial return to the octagon at UFC 309. This was when he faced off against Jon Jones for the undisputed heavyweight title and Francis Ngannou has sent both men a message.
While Stipe Miocic had not been active for the past three years, the UFC granted Stipe Miocic an immediate title fight on his return. This caused uproar amongst the UFC fanbase. However, the former champions’ inactivity became extremely apparent early on in his championship bout. This was when the commentary team constantly pointed out how slow the former champion looked.
Francis Ngannou Sends Stipe Miocic Heartfelt Message After Former Champion Announces Retirement
Even though the consensus before the event was that Stipe Miocic would go on to retire regardless of the result. The former champion would go on to confirm his plan following his disappointing defeat in the third round, announcing his retirement.
Stipe Miocic will go down as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, and he still holds the record for the most consecutive title defences in the division. This is currently at 3 title defences. One of these title defences came against Francis Ngannou all the way back in 2018. This was when Miocic was able to dominate Francis Ngannou to a unanimous decision victory.
These two would end up going to fight each other once again back in 2021. This will go down as one of the biggest rivalries in the UFC heavyweight history. In the rematch in 2021 Francis Ngannou was able to score a huge knockout putting their rivalry to 1-1. However, following this victory over Miocic, Francis would go on to leave the UFC.
Reacting to the 42-year-old’s retirement, Francis went and sent a heartfelt message to Miocic. This was to thank him for the rivalry they shared inside the cage. This is when Francis said;
“Thank you, champion, for all you’ve done for our sport and, above all, for the class you embody and the example you set. I’m grateful for how our battles have shaped me into a better fighter; those moments taught me more than years in the sport,”
“Enjoy your well-earned retirement and best wishes for all your future endeavors,”
Ngannou Also Sends Jon Jones a Message
Since Francis Ngannou walked away from the UFC back in 2022, he has continuously received criticism from the UFC CEO, Dana White. This is with Dana White claiming that Francis Ngannou ran away from a potential fight against Jon Jones.
These two have continuously gone back and forth with each other in interviews, with Francis Ngannou claiming that it was Jones’s Fault that the fight didn’t ever happen. The MMA community is starting to believe Francis Ngannou more recently. This is due to Jon Jones’s current attitude towards a potential title unification fight against Tom Aspinall.
Although Francis is no longer part of the UFC’s heavyweight roster, Francis Ngannou has kept a keen eye on the main event of UFC 309. Francis Ngannou even sent the champion a short but poignant message following his victory. This was when he sent the champion this short message;
“Jones looked great out there tonight. Congrats Jonny boy. I see you,” Ngannou said on X.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
