UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic defends his belt for the first time on Saturday. The five-round contest against Dutchman Alistair Overeem in Miocic’s backyard of Cleveland, Ohio, sets up as a coronation for an athlete from a city in unfamiliar territory: a sports town on a hot streak.
Headlines in June noted that Cleveland snapped a 52-year championship drought when LeBron James and the Cavaliers claimed the NBA title in seven games over the Golden State Warriors. It was Miocic, however, who got the good times rolling the previous month with a stellar first round knockout of Fabricio Werdum in front of 45,000 fans in Curitiba, Brazil.
“It’s something to be proud of,” Miocic said on Thursday during the final press conference for UFC 203. “You can say I broke [the drought] or didn’t break it. I really don’t care. I’m just happy the city has something to be proud of.”
UFC booked the home of the Cavaliers, Quicken Loans Arena, with the blue-collar Miocic in mind. A part-time firefighter and paramedic, Miocic led the parade when the Cavs celebrated Cleveland’s first major sports championship since the Browns won the NFL championship in 1964.
“People have always worn Cleveland shirts and supported Cleveland no matter how bad the teams were or how close we were,” Miocic said. “It didn’t matter. That’s really all about the city. We’re just hardworking people that love the city and don’t care how the teams do. Now we have a few champions. We’re a city of champions now and plan on keeping it that way for a long time.”
Not only is UFC 203 a chance for Clevelanders to revel again in the success of one of their own, it’s a nod to the reality that any man holding the UFC heavyweight belt has not done so more than two consecutive defenses. The majority of the promotion’s heavyweight champions haven’t even managed one retention. That truth, plus the intense pressure of delivering a title retention at home, has not appeared to weigh on Miocic, who said he doesn’t really take things seriously until he walks to the Octagon.
“It’s going to be curious to see how Stipe handles it,” Overeem said. “He seems to be very professional but we’ll see on Saturday.”
Miocic is as athletic as they come in the heavyweight division. Standing 6ft 4in at 246lbs, Miocic’s fit frame allows him to be light and balanced, promoting quality footwork that leads to the sort of swiftness that aided in his stoppage of Werdum. A former Golden Gloves boxer and amateur wrestler, Miocic has improved by noticeable measures over the course of his MMA career, which began in 2010.
After turning 34 in August, the collegiate baseball player and wrestler at the University of Cleveland claims to be more confident a competitor than ever before.
“I know I’m better than I was than the last fight,” said Miocic, who enters the Octagon against Overeem with a 15-2 record.
The 36-year-old Dutch challenger is considerably more experienced than Miocic, boasting 70 professional fights between MMA and kickboxing over the last 17 years, including six wins over former UFC champions.
“I almost feel a little bit sad that I’ll be taking something away from them,” said Overeem (41-14) when he was asked about challenging Miocic in Cleveland.
“This definitely is going to be the crown of my career.”
The night’s co-main event features Werdum, 39, against Travis Browne, a replacement for the injured Ben Rothwell. Werdum said it’s his intention to take care of business once again against the tall Hawaiian (Werdum, 20-6-1, out-pointed Browne, 18-4-1, in 2014) and watch closely as the main event unfolds. The Brazilian ousted by Miocic wants nothing more than another crack at UFC gold—that’s why he said he requested to fight on this card.
While the heavyweight championship contest has earned its fair share of deserved attention, especially in northeastern Ohio, the night’s most discussed bout features fighters with two pro bouts between them.
The long-awaited UFC debut of professional wrestler CM Punk (aka Phil Brooks) has not come to pass without some handwringing.
The Ohio Athletic Commission agreed to license Brooks, 37, in lieu of the fact that did not meet the state’s requirements, namely any kind of fighting experience. As these things go, the commission utilized a waiver outlined in its rules allowing the UFC to promote the kind of fight that would be normal fare for smaller cards on any given weekend across the U.S.
Brooks signed with the UFC in 2014 after a dispute with the WWE, for which he reigned as the pro wrestling organization’s world champion over 443 days. His last WWE appearance occurred in the same venue he’ll fight on Saturday, and since then he dedicated himself to pursuing MMA.
“You have frustrating days. You have breakthroughs. You turn corners. You make friends. You’re with your team. Your team is your family. It’s been an amazing experience,” Brooks said. “So no matter how frustrated or bad a day got it was still awesome. I’m enjoying all of this. This is fun for me.
“No matter how hard training was I get to go home and kiss my wife, like that’s a luxury in my world that I never used to do. It’s like vacation.”
It’s back to the real world for Chicago’s Brooks when he faces 24-year-old upstart Mickey Gall (2-0).
Unlike fellow WWE superstar Brock Lesnar – a physical specimen who won a national championship while wrestling for the University of Minnesota – Brooks has been derided as half an athlete whose fighting experiment won’t amount to anything but attention and a payday.
“I’m awkward and uncoordinated, and I’m old, and I’m fat, and I’m lazy, and I suck and I was a fake athlete and I’m not going to be able to do it,” Brooks said when asked about his naysayers heading into his match. “If you believe all that stuff, then you’re not going to be able to do it.”
Brooks suggested working the pro wrestling ranks is like driving an automatic car, while shooting in the MMA world is akin to driving stick. It’s basically the same thing, with a few important differences that will determine whether or not you move or stall.
“To me it’s never too late to start anything you want to do,” he said. “If you think so I’m sorry your dreams are so small.”
Many Clevelanders like Miocic might say it’s never too late to dream big. Lacking that, The Land may not have extricated itself from a streak that seemed everlasting, and he may not have won the UFC title.
“I’m from Cleveland. I love this place. I’m never going to leave,” Miocic said. “That’s the way it’s going to be. It’s amazing to come here. I’m so happy that UFC is finally here. We’ve been starving for it in Cleveland.”
