Jon Jones or Francis Ngannou? Stipe names ‘baddest man on the planet’

Stipe Miocic’s pick for “Baddest Man on the Planet” might surprise a few people.

Former two-time heavyweight champion Miocic retired after suffering a third-round TKO loss to heavyweight champ Jon Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) last November at UFC 309. But when asked whom he believes is the “Baddest Man on the Planet,” Miocic instead named Francis Ngannou, with whom he split two UFC title fights.

“I’ll go with Francis just because he is tearing it up,” Miocic told The Schmo. He’s doing great with his boxing. I’ll go with Francis.”

Jones vs. Ngannou never materialized, but UFC CEO Dana White is hopeful that he will unify the heavyweight championship with interim title holder Tom Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC). If the matchup does happen, Miocic has some advice for Aspinall on how to fight Jones.

“Don’t do what I did,” Miocic said with a laugh. “Tom is super tough, and he hits hard, he moves well, he’s a big man. If he stays calm under the situation and whatever happens, he just stays calm, I think he’ll be fine. If he picks his shots, and he’s smart with what he does, I think he’ll do fine.”

Miocic is widely considered the greatest heavyweight of all time after breaking the division record for most title defenses. In his first reign, he defended his belt against Alistair Overeem, Junior Dos Santos, and Ngannou.