CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is readying himself for his third NFL training camp, and he has taken to cross-training in a different sport as a unique way of “charging the batteries” before reporting to Berea next week.
Garrett drove out to Strong Style MMA Gym in Independence and visited UFC heavyweight title contender Stipe Miocic during one of his training sessions for a rematch with Daniel Cormier, which is set for August 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
“I was about to get my workout in, and guess who stopped in to do some pad work?” Miocic said while turning the camera from himself to Garrett.
Garrett responded by saying, “I just had to come see the champ myself.”
Then, Miocic appeared on camera trumpeting Garrett’s athleticism.
“Oh man, oh man, he’s going to show me a few things,” Miocic said.
Following the brief introduction to the video, Garrett is shown doing some pad work with Miocic’s striking coach, Alex Cooper.
Fully healthy coming into the 2018 season, Garrett emerged as a leader for the Browns’ defense and registered 44 total tackles, including 35 solo stops, while playing in all 16 games for the team who selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Of those 44 tackles, 13.5 were sacks on opposing quarterbacks for 75.5 lost yards and Garrett finished the year with the fourth-most sacks in a single season in franchise history.
With 20.5 career sacks, Garrett registered the most by a Brown in his first 27 games, as well as the most by a defender in his first two professional seasons. This past year, Garrett ranked sixth in the NFL with the 13.5 sacks and fourth in the AFC with four forced fumbles.
“Freakish athlete,” fellow defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson said in a conference call with the Cleveland media after signing as a free agent back in March. “Knows how to get after the quarterback. Not too much really bad to say about him. Reminds me of (Minnesota’s) Danielle Hunter. That is the best way I can put it.
“That is splitting hairs, comparing the two. Identical people. Freakish athlete, built. Looks like a created player off of Madden. High-motor guys. You really do not get guys that talented like that, and then, they play with passion like that. Some guys get arrogant. I was one of them, so I know.”
After a record-setting run to the most consecutive successful defenses of the heavyweight championship, Miocic is 18-3-0 in his professional career heading into the Cormier rematch, including a 12-3 mark since joining the UFC in 2011.
And while it was fun to get the visit from Garrett, Miocic is very much looking forward to getting back to the top of the mountain and reclaiming not only the heavyweight championship, but also, the moniker of “The Baddest Man on the Planet.”
“I’m going to show everyone that I’m the better fighter,” Miocic told WKYC.com after the rematch was announced. “That night was his night, and it will never happen again. He definitely won the lottery that night. Listen, I’m going to go out there and do me and I’m going to walk out with the belt.”
