Cleveland is once again home to the baddest man on the planet.
Northeast Ohio native Stipe Miocic regained the UFC heavyweight championship with a fourth-round knockout victory over Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 241 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California late Saturday night.
Miocic’s victory over Cormier marked the second time in his professional career where he avenged a loss, as he previously did so with Junior dos Santos in 2017. Cormier won the title from Miocic courtesy of a first-round knockout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas last summer.
Back in 2014, Miocic was an up-and-coming fighter in the UFC heavyweight division and was given a step up in competition against former champion Junior dos Santos, but after a five-round slugfest, he lost via unanimous decision.
Fast-forward more than two years later, and Miocic earned a measure of payback against dos Santos when he avenged one of only two losses on his professional record at the time with a knockout at the 2:24 mark of the very first round in the main event of UFC 211 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on May 13, 2017.
The record-holder for the most consecutive successful defenses of the UFC heavyweight championship, Miocic improved to 19-3-0 in his professional career with the victory over Cormier, including a 13-3 mark since joining the preeminent mixed martial arts organization.
Cormier fell to 22-2 with one no-contest in 25 professional bouts. Cormier is a former two-division UFC champion, as he previously held the light-heavyweight division before relinquishing that belt to challenge for the heavyweight title.
