Francis Ngannou has waited for years to get another shot at Stipe Miocic and the UFC heavyweight title. His wait will be over on March 27 when the pair meet in the main event of UFC 260, according to an ESPN report. In the co-main event, featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will put his belt on the line against former title challenger Brian Ortega.
Ngannou and Miocic battled at UFC 220, with Miocic grinding out a unanimous decision victory. Ngannou would lose a dull battle with Derrick Lewis in his follow-up fight, but has since won four consecutive fights by first-round knockout. The total fight time for Ngannou during his four fight win streak is only 2:42.
Miocic has only fought three times since defeating Ngannou, with all three fights coming against Daniel Cormier. Miocic was knocked out in his first fight with Cormier, but came back to score his own knockout in the rematch before battling to a thrilling unanimous decision win in their August 2020 trilogy fight.
Volkanovski will be looking to prove that he is truly the top 145-pound fighter in the world after a controversial win over Max Holloway in his previous outing. Volkanovski won the featherweight title from Holloway in December 2019 in a close decision. The pair rematched in July 2020, with Volkanovski being given the nod via split decision in a fight that many saw for Holloway.
In Ortega, Volkanovski will face a man whose lone career loss came against Holloway. Ortega ran up a professional record of 14-0 before being thoroughly dominated by Holloway in December 2018. After nearly two years out of action, Ortega made his return in October 2020, defeating Chan Sung Jung by decision in arguably the best performance of Ortega's career.
The venue for UFC 260 has not been officially announced, though it is likely the event will take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
