Key takeaways from UFC 260: Francis Ngannou will destroy Jon Jones

UFC 260 gave us a new champion, a stunning beat down, and a dream fight on the horizon. Here’s what we learned from fight night.

Francis Ngannou’s time has finally come

Despite showing no improvement in form from his first humbling defeat to Stipe Miocic, all Ngannou had to do was land the big punch and that’s exactly what he did. The toughest fighter in the heavyweight division is now officially the best, stopping Miocic in the second round, and ascending to the heavyweight throne.

Ngannou’s revenge couldn’t have come against a better or more skilled opponent. Considering that he decimated the division to get another chance at Miocic, there is only one fight that can be made for Ngannou: A super bout with Jon Jones.

Jon Jones will flop at heavyweight

The specter of Jones loomed heavily over the main event, especially as the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter made it clear that he intends to challenge for the title. As good as Jones is, the troubled light heavyweight champion is biting off more than he can chew. Jones was already falling apart at light heavyweight, so he'll certainly be up against it should he choose to go straight to Ngannou.

When Jones/Ngannou does happen - and it will - expect fans and experts alike to wonder what could have been had Jones moved up sooner.

Sugar Sean strikes back

After a freak injury resulted in his first career loss against Marlon Vera, Sean O’Malley showed that he didn’t miss a beat with a surgical destruction of Thomas Almeida. O’Malley was in full control of the bout, as he battered Almeida from the very beginning before closing up shop with a third-round stoppage.

O’Malley is a prospect the UFC is heavily invested in, and his loss to Vera isn’t going to slow him down. It’s time to see how he does against the likes of Jose Aldo or Cody Stamann next.

Vicente Luque calls out Nate Diaz

It would be unwise to consider Luque an elite welterweight, but he got the job done in an uneven performance against the rapidly declining Tyron Woodley. Luque was decked by the gun shy Woodley, but managed to avoid calamity by taking Woodley down and choking him out with the D’Arce choke. Following the win, Luque immediately called for a showdown against Nate Diaz.

If Diaz was watching, he might have seen enough to take Luque up on his challenge. Luque/Diaz won’t be a technical masterpiece if it happens, rather it will be a bloody brawl until someone inevitably gives in.

A main card promotion is coming for Nurmagomedov

Abubakar Nurmagomedov was the most likely fighter to suffer an upset on the card against Jared Gooden. Instead, the younger Nurmagomedov dominated Gooden en route to a unanimous decision.

The UFC is going to bank on the Nurmagomedov name in hopes that they can goad his more famous cousin Khabib into returning. As such, Abubakar might end up getting promoted to headline a UFC Fight Night card soon.