Africa rules UFC! Ngannou seals the heavyweight title

Francis Ngannou claimed the UFC heavyweight championship in devastating style on Saturday night, stopping Stipe Miocic with a series of ferocious punches early in the second round at UFC 260.

Ngannou avenged his blowout loss to Miocic in 2018 by demonstrating everything he has learned in the ensuing three years during a dominant victory. The fight in January 2018 went the distance, but this one only went 52 seconds into round two.

With Ngannou being born and raised in Cameroon, the African continent now sits at the top of the UFC with three championship belts, tied with South America. Ngannou’s feat was celebrated by fellow UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya, who hails from Nigeria.

Kamaru Usman, the UFC’s welterweight champion and another native of Nigeria, was standing in Ngannou’s corner at the UFC APEX on Saturday.

The first UFC heavyweight champion from Africa flattened Miocic twice in the second. He felled his opponent with a savage left but Miocic found his feet before the 34-year-old found the American's throat with another blow and referee Herb Dean called time on the fight.

Miocic admirably recovered from his first knockdown in the second round and even landed a right hand that stung Ngannou.

But the challenger replied with a picture-perfect left hook, depositing Miocic roughly on the canvas again for the finish.

Speaking after the fight, Ngannou set his sights on a blockbuster showdown with iconic light-heavyweight fighter Jon Jones, who is moving up to heavyweight.

'For my opinion, Jon Jones is the greatest of all time from mixed martial arts,' Ngannou said. 'Him moving up is going to be a good thing. He's going to be a challenge that I will take and I will put it on record. It will be a very good thing on my resume.

'But this time he is gonna be the challenger, I am the champ. I am ready. Any time soon. Whenever they are ready, I am ready.'

Ngannou is a former aspiring boxer who discovered mixed martial arts after he left Cameroon for France. He always had a high interest in all sorts of sports and is an avid Arsenal fan.

He rose rapidly through his new sport with his fearsome power and growing all-around skill, but Miocic interrupted his ascent by winning every round of their first bout in Boston.

The long-anticipated changing of the guard atop the UFC's heavyweight division finally happened in their rematch. In the Vegas cage, Ngannou had far too much for Miocic, the firefighter from Cleveland who is the most accomplished heavyweight champion in UFC history.

But UFC 260 turned into a showcase for Ngannou, who was up to the challenge this time.

Ngannou's loss to Miocic in 2018 staggered the confidence of a once-dynamic fighter. He barely threw a punch in his next bout, in an embarrassing loss to Derrick Lewis.

But Ngannou impressively regained his confidence later in 2018 and kicked off a run of four consecutive knockout victories against veteran heavyweights, putting him back in the cage with Miocic.

Miocic's heavyweight reign has been the best in the history of a notoriously tumultuous UFC division. He reigned as champion for four of the past five years, winning eight of his last nine fights overall and emphatically avenging his only loss to Daniel Cormier.

Miocic won the final two fights of his trilogy with Cormier to cement his heavyweight supremacy over the only opponent he had fought since the first bout with Ngannou.

The dominance of African fighters in the UFC world is nothing short of incredible.