CLEVELAND — The champ is home!
Stipe Miocic is back in Northeast Ohio less than 48 hours after the successful defense of his UFC Heavyweight Championship against Daniel Cormier in Las Vegas.
Miocic's victory by unanimous decision caps off a remarkable trilogy of fights between he and Cormier, who announced his retirement afterwards on Saturday night. Prior to the fight, UFC president Dana White said Miocic-Cormier III would determine the greatest heavyweight in UFC history. We now know that it is Stipe who is the baddest man on the planet.
On Monday, Miocic joined our Jim Donovan for a Zoom conversation. Here are some of the highlights from the interview:
Did you know you were ahead during the fight? "I felt confident, but you can't let it go to the judges. It was a close fight, no question, but I felt I was ahead. Sometimes judges don't see it the same way you do."
What was the atmosphere like with no fans? "It was kind of awkward. You walk out to a cage with no fans. Fans are what make the sport better. It was weird, but like any fight you know that either you survive, or you don't."
How does it feel to have retained the title? "Relief. It's been three years with he and I going back and forth fighting. Just relief. We move on. I wish him (Cormier) nothing but the best. He and his wife have a baby on the way."
On Stipe's blue-collar mentality: "It's the way I was raised being from Cleveland. We just go and do our thing and not worry about talking smack. It's the way my mother raised me."
Do you want to fight again? "If there's something good out there, of course!"
In their first meeting in 2018, Cormier ended Miocic's record run of three straight heavyweight title defense with a first-round knockout over the Euclid native.
However, over a year later, Stipe got revenge and reclaimed his title with a fourth-round TKO over Cormier.
Miocic's professional record is now 20-3, while Cormier drops to 22-3.
You can watch Stipe's full conversation with Jim Donovan in the player above or in our YouTube player below: