Stipe Miocic entered UFC 211 as the UFC heavyweight champion. He was on a four-fight winning streak. Each of those wins had come by way of knockout. His three most recent stoppages had all come in the first-round. Opposite Miocic was former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos. Dos Santos just happened to be the last man to defeat Miocic. He won their December 2014 contest by unanimous decision. Dos Santos had gone 1-1 since that victory.
Miocic said that 2014 fight against dos Santos was the toughest of his career.
Dos Santos opened the fight with several heavy low kicks to the lead leg of Miocic. He also spent the first minute of the contest in the middle of the cage. With his movement somewhat compromised due to the kicks, Miocic stalked dos Santos down and forced his back to the cage. Once he had his opponent in that spot, he dropped him with a big right hand. Once dos Santos hit the mat, Miocic teed off with ground strikes. The referee waved the fight off at 2:22 of the first round.
Miocic celebrated his victory by jumping on top of the fence and screaming, “Too easy, too (expletive) easy,” as he slapped his chest.
Not only did the stoppage continue Miocic’s string of first-round knockouts, but it gave him his fourth consecutive fight-night bonus.
After the fight, Miocic said the first meeting with dos Santos spurred him on to become the fighter he was in the rematch.
“I try not to think about it, because it was a terrible night,” Miocic said. “My eyes were swollen shut. I had 16 stitches in my lip.
“But yeah, I thought about it all the time. But I also want to thank him because if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here right now. He gave me that confidence I needed, that confidence I could beat anyone in the world. The confidence I can be the champ, I can be the champ for a long time. And like I said, if it wasn’t for my coaches over there, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
Miocic faces Francis Ngannou in the main event of UFC 220. That fight takes place on January 20 at TD Garden in Boston. If Miocic leaves Boston with the belt, he will become the first fighter to defend the UFC heavyweight title three consecutive times.
