VIDEO | Stipe Miocic Talks to Joe Rogan About Francis Ngannou

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. All finishes. Everyone Francis Ngannou has tested his record-breaking power on has not been able to take it. The latest victory over former K-1 grand prix champion Alistair Overeem, earned the surging contender the biggest fight of his career. At UFC 220 in Boston early next year, he will fight Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title. The full-time firefighter isn’t phases though. He spoke to Joe Rogan today about the match-up and claims no one — not even Ngannou — will take the belt from him.

“I think [Francis Ngannou]’s a great fighter, you know? Definitely. He brings it. He hits hard. Unfortunately, nothing’s going to change. I’m walking out with the belt still wrapped around my waist. I’m excited for him. You know, he’s getting a shot, but as long as I’m here no one’s going to be the champ. His power I guess, [stands out] but I think everyone hits hard in the heavyweight division. A 260-pound man, 250-pound man — you’re not supposed to be hit by something like that. I fought [Junior dos Santos]. I fought Roy Nelson. I fought Mark Hunt. I mean, I fought guys who threw hard. He’s a little wild, too. That’s tough. Sometimes you can’t prepare for that because there are punches you don’t see.”

Thanks @joerogan for having me on JRE today while I was in town! #AndStill pic.twitter.com/dE4ulEvePg

— Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocicufc) December 13, 2017

“I just think that was a little bit on both ends. [Alistair] Overeem was kind of being a little sloppy, but it his face right in the lane. […] I didn’t watch the whole fight with Ngannou, but what I saw was he was throwing all these wild punches. When he fought me, he was throwing straights. I’ll find out January 20th. I think I’ll do alright. I’ve got the best coaches in the world.  I’m pretty confident walking in there. He’s a big dude. He throws hard, but that’s every heavyweight. It doesn’t take much. […] He’s definitely gotten better. There’s not question, but we’ll see what happens. Listen, I’m going out there for broke. ” — Stipe Miocic on Joe Rogan’s  MMA Show.

The stoic champion Stipe Miocic doesn’t try to argue that Francis Ngannou has one-punch knockout power, but says that isn’t any different than anyone at that weight. On January 20th, Miocic will set out to prove his hypothesis and retain his UFC heavyweight title, while Ngannou will once again step in front of a man and try to get him to fall. It’s why everyone will be tuning in for the pay-per-view to see if Miocic can beat this monster, or Ngannou will fulfill Dana White’s prophecy of the first homegrown heavyweight superstar.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 12/13/2017.