Stipe Miocic holding out for trilogy fight against UFC champ Francis Ngannou in 2022

The latter half of 2021 has been quiet for former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.

The Eastlake North graduate lost the belt to Francis Ngannou last March when Miocic was knocked out in Round 2.

The two-time champ hopes things pick up in 2022 — the year he hopes is his return to the octagon. Most importantly, he wants a shot at reclaiming the title of “The Baddest Man on the Planet,” the moniker given to the heavyweight champ.

How that happens is murky at the moment. On Nov. 22, Miocic was on The MMA Hour talking about a variety of topics. Most notably was his hope for a trilogy fight against Ngannou. That’s the bout he prefers. He also said unless the belt is on the line, there’s little to no interest in any fight.

Miocic getting that title shot obviously hasn’t happened yet. When and if a third fight with Ngannou occurs is the big question lingering in the UFC heavyweight division.

The fighters split their first two bouts — Miocic winning in dominant fashion in 2018, and Ngannou scoring a dominant win last spring.

Miocic lamented his performance against Ngannou in March.

“I let him dictate the pace. I let him do what he wanted,” said Miocic. “I just didn’t do what I want, just kind of stayed back. Got hit a few times, took a terrible shot. There was a lot of things I did wrong. But listen, we all make mistakes.

“He hit me with some good shots but that left hook is the one I didn’t see. I hit him with that right and I came in guns blazing with my hands down and he hit me with the one I didn’t see. That was end of it.”

Ngannou (16-3) hasn’t fought since his win against Miocic (20-4). But he is scheduled to do so in January 2022 against interim heavyweight champ Ciryl Gane, who’s 10-0 after he defeated Derrick Lewis in an interim title fight created by UFC president Dana White.

Miocic said on The MMA Hour he wasn’t sure if he would accept a chance to fight in that interim title bout but added he would have “loved to have been asked.”

Now, Miocic must sit back and watch the Gane-Ngannou unification fight at UFC 270 in January. A Ngannou win is anything but a guarantee as Gane (6-foot-4, 247 pounds) has proved to be more than capable. A Gane win could set up a variety of options for the UFC. One could be Gane vs. Miocic. Or possibly Gane vs. Jon Jones, the former light heavyweight champ who’s reportedly moving up to heavyweight.

Perhaps in that scenario, Miocic could fight Ngannou a third time. But without the belt on the line, Miocic could say thanks but no thanks.

It shouldn’t be a secret White and the UFC is banking on a Ngannou-Jones title fight in 2022. That would be a big pay-per-view money-maker for the UFC.

The 39-year-old Miocic and wife Ryan recently had their second child, a son, so family has been the priority for Miocic in the past months. Looking ahead to 2022, Miocic said there is a planned meeting in Las Vegas in December with White to discuss his future with the UFC.

In the past months, there were reports and rumors of a possible Jones-Miocic fight in the works, which Miocic discussed on The MMA Hour.

“I don’t think he wanted it,” said Miocic of a rumored Jones fight. “I don’t know the whole story but I’m down. Then he wants a title shot. I know he’s done well, he’s probably one of the greatest of all time but you’ve still got to wait your order. That’s like me going to light heavyweight and being like, ‘I want a shot.’ ”

Miocic has told The News-Herald numerous times he would anyone, and that includes inside a ring and crossing over to boxing. For the time being, his focus is Ngannou and a trilogy fight — with the belt on the line.

“… I really want that trilogy fight,” said Miocic. “That (title) was mine. I want it back.”