Stipe Miocic scores an impressive first round knock-out of Junior Dos Santos to retain his UFC Heavyweight title at UFC 211 last night.
Undersold
The heavyweight Champion is often regarded as the marquee draw in any combat sport. Not so in the UFC.
Stipe Miocic has been criminally undersold in my opinion. Look at his last four fights.
- A first round knock-out of former champion Andre Arlovski, in March last year
- A first round knock out of Fabricio Werdum to win to title
- A first round knock-out of Alistair Overeem to defend the title
- A first round knock-out of former champion Junior Dos Santos
Stipe is racking up a KO resume that Mike Tyson would be proud of. Yet he is bearing acknowledged within MMA as one of the best fighters, let alone marketed to a wider audience.
Running out of challengers?
Maybe the reason Miocic flies under the radar is not so much his performances but the lack of competition. Junior Dos Santos (‘JDS’) got the title shot off the back of a one fight winning streak. Despite holding a win over Miocic, JDS is on the slide relative to where people thought he’d be when he won the title back in 2011.
Many regard Cain Velasquez as the man who would pose Miocic with his sternest test. However Velasquez has been plagued by injury and it remains to be seen whether he can regain the form that had him in the P4P discussions.
Beyond Cain, Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis have put together impressive winning streaks however it is likely too soon of either of those guys to make the jump up to face Miocic.
Diamond in the rough
Speak to most punters and they’ll say nothing is more exciting than a heavyweight KO. Here is a Champion that is finishing off all-comers in the first round, yet no-one is talking about him. Miocic has won fight of the night bonuses in 6 of his last 7 fights. He has won bonuses in his last 4 fights.
Miocic is clearly giving the people what they want!
I hear Tyron Woodley complaining about not getting the push from the UFC. However I’d put him way behind Miocic on the list of complainants.
On paper, Miocic should be the poster boy of the UFC. In Miocic, the UFC have a diamond in the rough. A rugged ‘all-american’ with immigrant roots. He even works as a fireman (and a paramedic) when he isn’t putting people to sleep in the Octagon. He has personality too. His “Give me a title” post fight rant at Dana White during UFC195 was a marketers wet-dream.
I think the UFC are missing a trick with Miocic. Now that he has tied the record for the most UFC Heavyweight title defences, he will hopefully get the pump he deserves.
