UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic (20-3-0) will defend his title against Francis Ngannou (15-3-0) this Saturday at the UFC 26o. The event will take place live from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The two previously fought in January 2018 at UFC 220. There, Miocic beat Ngannou via unanimous decision to retain the heavyweight title. Since then, Miocic lost the title to Daniel Cormier at UFC 226, only to win it back at UFC 241.
On the other hand, Ngannou is on a four-fight win streak and is looking to capture the UFC Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career. According to BetOnline, he has a decent chance at doing so. The sportsbook lists him as the -123 favorite to leave the Apex with the title.
UFC 260 Odds: Stipe Miocic (C) vs. Francis Ngannou
Odds via BetOnline as of Friday, March 26
- Moneyline: Miocic +118, Ngannou -138
- Over/Under: Over 1.5 Rounds -150, Under 1.5 Rounds +120
Ngannou Projected to Win at UFC 260
As mentioned before, Ngannou sits at -138 to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 260 despite losing to Miocic at their last meeting. After that loss, Ngannou would lose to Derrick Lewis via decision six months later. However, that loss seemed to be a turning point for the Cameroonian fighter. He’s won his last four fights, including victories over Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos.
Oh, and by the way: Ngannou has won his last four fights by a total of 162 seconds. Very few fighters have looked that dominant.
Of Nagnnou’s 15 MMA wins, 11 have been by knockout and four were by submission. He’s also been awarded “Performance of the Night” honors in three of his last four fights. On the other hand, despite Ngannou being the favorite at UFC 260, don’t count Miocic out yet.
Miocic has only lost to Cormier since 2015, going 8-1-0 in that time frame. While his only fights since beating Ngannou at UFC 220 have been against Cormier, Miocic has cemented himself at the top of the heavyweight division. His wrestling and stamina are also superior to Ngannou, which played a role in their first fight.
Since Ngannou’s fights have ended so quickly recently, nobody knows if his cardio is better now than it was in 2018. At the same time, Miocic has gone to the fourth round or beyond three times in his last four fights.
At the end of the day, this fight could end because of two reasons:
- Ngannou knocks Miocic out early on.
- Miocic avoids an early knockout and uses his cardio to outlast Ngannou.
UFC 260 Betting Information
Betting on UFC or other MMA fights is one of the most popular forms of sports betting. If you’d like to participate, you can always sign up to a sportsbook of your choosing. Once you’ve signed up, you can find different betting markets in the MMA section.
From there, you’ll see different types of bets you can make, including:
- Moneyline: Choosing the outright winner of a fight.
- Overunder: Betting on whether a fight will last longer (Over) or less than (Under) the number of given rounds.
- Prop Bets: Unique bets that don’t always deal with the winner of a fight. They can range from the method that a fight will end to the exact number of rounds.
Regardless of which fight or market you’re betting on, always do research. Even sports betting experts do background research before wagering money. Ten minutes of research can be the difference between winning big and a colossal loss.
