Stipe Miocic releases statement following KO loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260

Former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic has released a statement following his second-round knockout loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260.

Miocic suffered a brutal second-round KO loss to Ngannou in the pair’s rematch, which headlined this past Saturday’s UFC 260 pay-per-view card. Following the loss, Miocic has now taken to social media to release a lengthy statement. In it, he congratulated Ngannou on the victory and said he will be taking some time off to recover. Read it below.

“First and foremost, I’m ok. I know that fall wasn’t my most graceful fall, but I was unconscious, so it happens To my family friends and fans, especially Croatia & Cleveland.. I love you and I’m sorry. I hate letting you down. To my team, thank you. I know you feel every loss just as much as I do. We win as a family, we lose as a family. Losses aren’t fun, they always sting for a while, but that’s the beast of this business. You can’t win them all, and it’s important to understand that losing is just as much a part of sports (and life) as winning. Don’t ever forget God will always put you where you’re meant to be at that exact moment. You can’t dwell on what you should have done better, but you can learn and improve from it and come back more prepared next time,” Miocic wrote. “Unfortunately, I deviated from game plan. I felt great coming into the second round, I saw it was beginning to go as planned. He was getting very winded, and I came in over zealous and unprotected. I wasn’t in a good posture to take the hit. He saw the opening, and did what any great fighter would have done. That was my error that I accept, it wont happen again. Lastly, I’d like to congratulate @francisngannou and his team on a well earned victory. Saturday night was your night, enjoy your victory! For now, I’m going to enjoy the down time, spend some time with my family, and welcome our son into the world this summer… stay tuned, God bless #cletillidie”

What do you think is next for Stipe Miocic after losing to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260?