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MMA

Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou 2: Who wins the rematch at UFC 260?

Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou 2: Who wins the rematch at UFC 260?DAZN
Will Saturday finally be Ngannou's crowning moment, or will Miocic take him back to school? Our experts attempt to predict the UFC 260 main event.

Saturday's big UFC 260 main event at The Apex in Las Vegas sees Francis Ngannou challenge UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic for a second time.

In their first encounter back in January 2018, Ngannou was fancied by many but ultimately found himself comfortably beaten by the defending titleholder.

Miocic has since lost the belt to Daniel Cormier, before regaining it in a rematch and cementing his place atop the maximum-weight rankings in the trilogy fight. Meanwhile, Ngannou lost a second straight fight when he opposed Derrick Lewis before embarking on a four-fight win streak that brought him back into contendership.

Over three years on from their first meeting, will we see a different result or more of the same?

Here's what the DAZN News team thinks of the big rematch.

Steven Muehlhausen:

It's hard to see how the rematch plays out any differently than what everyone saw a little more than three years ago. While it's very impressive seeing and watching Ngannou knock out his foes, we still don't know how his cardio is and if he's improved on grappling as much as he says he has. Miocic would be crazy to stand and bang with heavy-handed Ngannou for 25 minutes. Look at the first round of their first outing. The fight primarily stayed on the feet, with Ngannou having the edge. For the remainder of the contest, Miocic used his superior grappling and sent Ngannou down to the canvas six times to easily secure the victory.

If Ngannou is going to have a shot, it's imperative he keeps the fight standing. His grappling pales in comparison to Miocic. He needs to have quick hips and feet to keep himself away from Miocic in order to give himself the best opportunity to win. His best chance to become the first African-American-born fighter heavyweight champion is the sledgehammers known as his left and right hands. All Miocic has to do is be Stipe Miocic. He's got underrated hands. People forget he's a Golden Gloves Boxing Champion and the fact he stopped Daniel Cormier at UFC 242 by blasting him with body shots and then finishing things off upstairs. 

But the best recipe for Miocic is to use his wrestling and win that way. Why play with fire when it isn't necessary? Miocic does precisely what he did in January 2018 and he'll win quite handily and remain the UFC heavyweight champion.

Prediction: Miocic via decision

Mark Lelinwalla: 

The longer Miocic vs. Ngannou 2 goes, the more the fight bodes well for the reigning champ, right? Yes. Though I see Ngannou having grown more in training than Miocic might expect. I say in training because his last four fights have seen Ngannou tender first-round knockouts. I believe Ngannou doesn't catch a savvy Miocic in the first round, but makes the adjustment needed to crack the champ and end it in the second. The smaller Octagon should benefit Ngannou toward getting the stoppage as well. Winner and new champion of the world.

Prediction: Ngannou by TKO

Liam Happe:

What makes this return bout interesting is having seen both fighters mature, develop and learn ever since UFC 220. Both men lost their very next bout, before returning to winning ways in impressive fashion. Ngannou has told media in the run-up to attempt number two that he has learned from the key errors that cost him in 2018. Miocic has been quick to point out that he, too, has improved areas of his game since that dominant performance. As a result, the diehard will be in for a treat. A combination of human chess and two big badasses trying to beat each other down isn't easy to pull off, but is MMA at its very best when it happens. However, I suspect Miocic will once again contain his dangerous challenger and do enough to take it over five.

Prediction: Miocic via decision