1. Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou
UFC 220
Jan. 20 | Boston
History has not been kind to UFC heavyweight champions. Miocic undoubtedly knows this heading into his title defense against the terrifying Ngannou in Beantown. In the process of building an all-time resume, Miocic will enter the cage on a five-fight winning streak, during which he has finished Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski, Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos. Arlovski, Werdum, Overeem and dos Santos did not to survive to see the second round, and Hunt was on the receiving end of one of the worst beatings in UFC history. Into that crucible steps Ngannou, who has rattled off 10 consecutive victories and cemented himself as the clear No. 1 contender for Miocic’s title. He last fought at UFC 218 on Dec. 2, when he wiped out Overeem with a crushing uppercut less than two minutes into their encounter at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Sherdog’s Top 10 series is voted upon by a panel of Sherdog.com staff members and contributors: Jordan Breen, Tristen Critchfield, Mike Fridley, Brian Knapp, Eric Stinton, Jesse Denis, Todd Martin, Josh Stillman, Nick Grinups and Anthony Walker.