Stipe Miocic was supposed to have a huge opportunity in Brazil on Saturday.
Junior dos Santos then suffered an injury, leaving Miocic to compete with light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado instead. It’s a matchup that could produce some entertaining boxing, but it’s a no-win situation for Miocic this weekend.
Should Maldonado stun Miocic in front of his home crowd, it will leave Maldonado in an interesting situation. He clearly doesn’t have the size to be successful over the long haul in the heavyweight division, but beating a fighter like Miocic would make him a contender in the weight class.
As the headlining fight on the finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 approaches, here is a closer look at how Miocic and Maldonado match up in all areas.