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LAS VEGAS – Although most assumed it as a title eliminator, UFC President Dana White has officially gone on record and named UFC 218’s co-headliner between Alistair Overeem and Francis Ngannou as a No. 1 contender fight in the heavyweight division.

Overeem (43-15 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and Ngannou (10-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) meet tonight at UFC 218, which takes place at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, with a main card on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. With less than 24 hours until they step in the octagon, the stakes have been officially raised.

White said whoever emerges from the anticipated matchup will next step in the octagon with reigning heavyweight titleholder Stipe Miocic (17-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC).

“Whoever wins is going to fight Stipe,” White told reporters during a media scrum, which MMAjunkie attended, following tonight’s The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale event in Las Vegas.

There’s been some questions about Miocic’s status over the past few months after he revealed he was seeking a better contract with the promotion. Miocic last competed at UFC 211 in May, where he earned his second consecutive title defense with a first-round knockout of Junior Dos Santos.

Although it’s been a longer-than-usual layoff for Miocic, White said everything has been sorted with his champion and he will be ready to fight the Overeem vs. Ngannou winner, likely sooner than later.

“We get (expletive) done,” White said. “We always figure it out. We’re in a good place.”

If Ngannou wins the fight, there would be little resistance to him getting a title shot considering he would be riding a 10-fight winning streak, including six straight under the UFC banner. If Overeem comes out on top, though, that could be slightly more problematic.

Miocic defeated Overeem by first-round knockout at UFC 203 in September 2016, and although “The Reem” came close to winning the fight when he dropped the champ, he couldn’t get the job done. The promotion would be running the fight back likely less than 18 months after the initial meeting, but White doesn’t appear to have any issues with that possibility.

Former two time UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez (14-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) is still lingering in the weight class, but he hasn’t fought since July 2016 and has been dealing with consistent injury issues for the better part of the past five years.

When healthy, Velasquez has proven to be as good as any heavyweight in MMA history. White said he’s not currently part of the conversation to fight Miocic, though, and even once Velasquez is cleared for competition, the UFC boss expects he will take another fight before moving into a title bout.

“Cain? When’s the last time you saw Cain fight?” White said. “Cain hasn’t fought in forever. Cain’s going to have to come back and fight somebody to even think about that spot. I’m sure Cain doesn’t want to come back and jump right in the fire. He’s been out for a while.”

For more on UFC 218, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Filed under: News, UFC, Videos