CLEVELAND — “C-L-E till I die.”
Combat sports athletes, particularly mixed martial artists, relocate themselves and their families to train with some of the best teams in the business, but Cleveland’s Stipe Miocic chose instead to stay home and make a path where there was not yet a trail.
Miocic began and continues his career at Strong Style MMA Gym in Independence, and just like the hit song, “Till I Die,” from Cleveland rap star MGK that he walks out to prior to his fights, the firefighter/paramedic in Oakwood Village and Valley View is not leaving Cleveland.
“It’s a Cleveland thing,” Miocic told WKYC.com prior to defending the UFC heavyweight championship for the third time in January of 2018. “People don’t understand that if they’re not from Cleveland, but this gym is amazing.
“It’s not just about the fighters. It’s about the whole gym itself. From the fitness side to the MMA side, we have each other’s backs no matter what. We’re always here to help each other out, and that’s what I love about this gym. I could be 0-100, and I still wouldn’t leave.”
Here is the case why Miocic could be Cleveland’s Athlete of the Decade.
Kicked off city’s run of success
“Cleveland, we’ve got a champion, baby!”
That is how Miocic ended his post-fight press conference after winning the UFC heavyweight title with a first-round knockout of former champion, Fabricio Werdum, in the main event of UFC 198 at the Arena Atletico Paranaense in Curitiba, Brazil in May of 2016.
Miocic won the UFC Championship after delivering a right hand to Werdum’s jaw. The former champion was chasing Miocic around the outer rim of The Octagon, and left his chin exposed. Despite backing away from Werdum’s pursuit, Miocic threw a powerful right hand that floored the champion.
Miocic added three shots to the downed Werdum before referee Dan Miragliotta called a stop to the fight at 2:14 of the first round.
Following the knockout of Werdum, Miocic sprinted to his corner, jumped over the cage fence and celebrated the victory with his coaches. While getting hugged by his team and them saying, “We won it, baby,” Miocic screamed: “I’m the world champ! I’m the world champ!”
“I want to keep this belt for a long time,” Miocic said. “I know Cleveland’s got the curse, but I’m bringing the championship back home to Cleveland. I’m going to keep this belt for a while. I promise you that.”
Miocic’s title win was quickly followed by the then-Lake Erie Monsters hoisting the Calder Cup and the Cavaliers winning the NBA Championship later in the summer.
Record-setting run
Miocic sure lived up to his promise, and did so in record-setting fashion, as he successfully defended the title three consecutive times with knockout wins over Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos and Francis Ngannou over a 16-month span.
Despite being the underdog once again, Miocic, a graduate of Eastlake North High School, retained the championship by outpointing and outwrestling Ngannou in the main event of UFC 220 at TD Garden in Boston in January of 2018.
Miocic won the bout, 50-44, on all three of the judges’ scorecards.
According to FightMetric, Miocic was successful with six of his 14 takedown attempts (42 percent), and used those to build one-sided advantages in control and total strikes against the 263-pound Ngannou, who was unbeaten in his first six UFC bouts.
Miocic held control of Ngannou for 15 of the 25 minutes of the fight, and while in the clinch and guard, he landed most of his 200 strikes. Known as a judicious puncher, Miocic connected on 200 of his 244 strikes (82 percent) and 70 of his 95 significant attempts (74 percent).
Regaining the belt
When Miocic lost the championship to Daniel Cormier at UFC 226 in Las Vegas in July of 2018, he did not expect it to take 13 months for a return match, not after the record-setting title reign, but that is exactly what he had to do.
But Miocic let go of that frustration on Cormier in the fourth round of the rematch at UFC 241 in August of 2019.
After struggling to find his range in the first three rounds, Miocic picked his spots during the fourth frame and was sticking and moving, engaging with punches, including several left hooks to Cormier’s ribs, and getting out of the pocket before the defending champion could respond.
Then, after a lead hook to the body, Miocic landed a straight right hand to Cormier’s chin. That wobbled Cormier and Miocic moved in for the finish. Miocic landed three right hands before connecting on three short lefts while putting Cormier against the cage.
With Cormier falling to the canvas, Miocic alternated right and left-handed punches and forced the referee’s stoppage with 52 seconds remaining in the fourth round.
By regaining the UFC heavyweight championship and avenging only the third loss in his professional career, Miocic improved his professional record to 19-3, including a 13-3 slate in the UFC.