The country of Brazil can’t like what Chris Weidman is doing to its icons. Somebody needs to stop this man who is putting Tom Petty back into popular rotation. In all of his “big” appearances (meaning title fights), Weidman has punished Anderson Silva for his sacred clowning, broke Anderson Silva’s leg gruesomely, put the mangles on Lyoto Machida for 25 minutes, and now — just to cap it all off, as if all of that weren’t enough — allowed Vitor Belfort one small delusional moment of divine hope before pounding him into a state of reassessment.
The biggest reason to give Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza the next crack at Weidman’s belt is so that he can attempt to avenge his countrymen. At this point, Weidman is to Rio what Tecumseh Sherman became as danced all over the ashes of Atlanta.
And yet, after Weidman defended his title for a third time in fairly dramatic fashion at UFC 187, the queries into his headspace had to do with his motivation in being discounted as a champion. Or disrespected. Jay Glazer and Dominick Cruz disputed over the wording in the post-fight show on FOX Sports 1, while Weidman bled silently out of his eye right next to them. Glazer said Weidman’s shtick is to not have a shtick, and such a high-minded concept began to shut down the panel’s orientation. In any case, the point is that even the experts are wondering why Weidman isn’t given the respect he deserves.
Now, there are a lot of reasons for this. Part of it has to do with the bookings. Weidman has headlined exactly two pay-per-views, and really the first one — UFC 162 — was all about Anderson Silva. Weidman, the kid from Hofstra who had less than 10 fights at the time, was supposed to be Victim No. 17. He wasn’t. He vandalized the church. When they rematched at UFC 168, it was all about how Anderson Silva would collect himself after being defeated. (In pieces, it turned out).
Like it or not, this declarative series didn’t sit well with MMA purists who had grown to believe in the Silva myth. Suddenly there was a freaking singlet at the top at 185 pounds instead of a striking wizard.
Since those fights Weidman has appeared twice, and both times on a shared bill with another champion. The first time, at UFC 175 for his fight with Machida, was with Ronda Rousey, who defended her belt against Alexis Davis. Then last night, where he played the co-main role behind Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier. The spotlight hasn’t been firmly on him since he did away with Silva.
The other thing is that, due to injury and other circumstance, Weidman is a rarity to see at all. After winning the belt, he fought once in 2014. Ten months later, he beat Belfort. The first thing he said afterwards was that he wanted to fight at Madison Square Garden when the UFC is finally legally able to visit New York. For as poetic as that seems, that card — if it happens — is seven months away. Football season will be winding down the next time Weidman fights if that’s the case. It’s hard to be excited about things sitting on a shelf.
And with two top contenders in Luke Rockhold and Jacare vying for the shot at Weidman, December almost feels like a cussword.
But all of that is secondary to the other thing that Weidman is (or isn’t). He’s a fairly regularly guy who just happens to be in an extraordinary circumstance — a circumstance that he put him in because he’s obviously extraordinary. Google Chris Weidman and Hurricane Sandy to get an idea. He loves his wife, for god sakes, and he even thanked Jesus after doing away with one of Jesus’ most loyal customers, Vitor Belfort (did I mention he has a degree in psychology?). He’s not brimming with charisma so much as he’s beaming with ordinary dudeness. When he talks trash, he’s so casually truthful about it that it just makes him come off as realist. There’s very little that’s outlandish about Chris Weidman. He’s unnervingly down to earth.
That’s how it is for now.
At some point, though, Weidman’s will be given the credit he is due, no matter how reluctant people are. What he has accomplished so far feels like the tip of the iceberg. Lost in the everyman parts of his attitude is the fact that he wants to be the best in the world. Before he took Silva’s belt he was already giving his consent a rematch. He was already talking about taking Jon Jones’ belt down the line. He was already talking about himself high above MMA stratosphere as the greatest fighter not only in his division, but of all time. After he beat Silva twice he still said Silva was the best of all time. Make no mistake that he knows who he’s really complimenting in that sentiment. He’s so subtle about his ascent into greatness that you can’t help but downplay along with him.
That is, unless you’re in Brazil, where Chris Weidman has become another word for tyranny.
The country of Brazil can’t like what Chris Weidman is doing to its icons. Somebody needs to stop this man who is putting Tom Petty back into popular rotation. In all of his “big” appearances (meaning title fights), Weidman has punished Anderson Silva for his sacred clowning, broke Anderson Silva’s leg gruesomely, put the mangles on Lyoto Machida for 25 minutes, and now — just to cap it all off, as if all of that weren’t enough — allowed Vitor Belfort one small delusional moment of divine hope before pounding him into a state of reassessment.
The biggest reason to give Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza the next crack at Weidman’s belt is so that he can attempt to avenge his countrymen. At this point, Weidman is to Rio what Tecumseh Sherman became as danced all over the ashes of Atlanta.
And yet, after Weidman defended his title for a third time in fairly dramatic fashion at UFC 187, the queries into his headspace had to do with his motivation in being discounted as a champion. Or disrespected. Jay Glazer and Dominick Cruz disputed over the wording in the post-fight show on FOX Sports 1, while Weidman bled silently out of his eye right next to them. Glazer said Weidman’s shtick is to not have a shtick, and such a high-minded concept began to shut down the panel’s orientation. In any case, the point is that even the experts are wondering why Weidman isn’t given the respect he deserves.
Now, there are a lot of reasons for this. Part of it has to do with the bookings. Weidman has headlined exactly two pay-per-views, and really the first one — UFC 162 — was all about Anderson Silva. Weidman, the kid from Hofstra who had less than 10 fights at the time, was supposed to be Victim No. 17. He wasn’t. He vandalized the church. When they rematched at UFC 168, it was all about how Anderson Silva would collect himself after being defeated. (In pieces, it turned out).
Like it or not, this declarative series didn’t sit well with MMA purists who had grown to believe in the Silva myth. Suddenly there was a freaking singlet at the top at 185 pounds instead of a striking wizard.
Since those fights Weidman has appeared twice, and both times on a shared bill with another champion. The first time, at UFC 175 for his fight with Machida, was with Ronda Rousey, who defended her belt against Alexis Davis. Then last night, where he played the co-main role behind Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier. The spotlight hasn’t been firmly on him since he did away with Silva.
The other thing is that, due to injury and other circumstance, Weidman is a rarity to see at all. After winning the belt, he fought once in 2014. Ten months later, he beat Belfort. The first thing he said afterwards was that he wanted to fight at Madison Square Garden when the UFC is finally legally able to visit New York. For as poetic as that seems, that card — if it happens — is seven months away. Football season will be winding down the next time Weidman fights if that’s the case. It’s hard to be excited about things sitting on a shelf.
And with two top contenders in Luke Rockhold and Jacare vying for the shot at Weidman, December almost feels like a cussword.
But all of that is secondary to the other thing that Weidman is (or isn’t). He’s a fairly regularly guy who just happens to be in an extraordinary circumstance — a circumstance that he put him in because he’s obviously extraordinary. Google Chris Weidman and Hurricane Sandy to get an idea. He loves his wife, for god sakes, and he even thanked Jesus after doing away with one of Jesus’ most loyal customers, Vitor Belfort (did I mention he has a degree in psychology?). He’s not brimming with charisma so much as he’s beaming with ordinary dudeness. When he talks trash, he’s so casually truthful about it that it just makes him come off as realist. There’s very little that’s outlandish about Chris Weidman. He’s unnervingly down to earth.
That’s how it is for now.
At some point, though, Weidman’s will be given the credit he is due, no matter how reluctant people are. What he has accomplished so far feels like the tip of the iceberg. Lost in the everyman parts of his attitude is the fact that he wants to be the best in the world. Before he took Silva’s belt he was already giving his consent a rematch. He was already talking about taking Jon Jones’ belt down the line. He was already talking about himself high above MMA stratosphere as the greatest fighter not only in his division, but of all time. After he beat Silva twice he still said Silva was the best of all time. Make no mistake that he knows who he’s really complimenting in that sentiment. He’s so subtle about his ascent into greatness that you can’t help but downplay along with him.
That is, unless you’re in Brazil, where Chris Weidman has become another word for tyranny.
After his victory over Anthony Johnson to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion on Saturday night, Daniel Cormier made it clear that he felt like the real champion.
Cormier said in the UFC 187 post-fight press conference that just be…
After his victory over Anthony Johnson to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion on Saturday night, Daniel Cormier made it clear that he felt like the real champion.
Cormier said in the UFC 187 post-fight press conference that just because he didn’t defeat erstwhile champion Jon Jones — who was stripped of his belt in April after a hit-and-run felony charge in Albuquerque — doesn’t mean the gold around his waist isn’t legitimate.
“You see what’s sitting right there? That’s a gold belt,” he said. “That thing’s reserved for the UFC champion. I didn’t disqualify myself from competition. Jon did. Jon’s the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. We all know that. But, he disqualified himself from this competition right now. So I am the champion. I’m very proud of what I accomplished tonight.
“I fought a very tough guy that deserved to be there. If anything, I think what tonight showed is that if Jon Jones can get his stuff together, I mean, how special is he? That I just beat the guy that people thought that he could beat and he just beat me. So I mean, we can’t take this guy for granted, he’s a special talent. “
Cormier (16-1) lost to Jones via unanimous decision at UFC 182 on January 3 in Las Vegas. He was slated to face Ryan Bader in June, but with Jones being stripped of the title was given the opportunity to fight for the belt just five months later. He made the most of the opportunity by scoring a third-round submission (rear-naked choke) after surviving a tumultuous opening sequence where he got dropped by a big shot.
Cormier reiterated that he thought that a champion needs to be a champion in all walks of life.
“It’s not about Jon Jones inside of the ring,” he said. “You have to be a champion in all facets of life. It’s unfortunate, but I believe he’ll get his stuff together and him and I will fight again. I said I’m the kid at the wrestling tournament who’s always in your bracket. It’s not just one tournament. It’s over the course of the year. So maybe Jon beat me at a dual meet at a regional tournament, but there’s still a state tournament and a national tournament. So there’s plenty of times for him and I to compete against each other.”
Cormier surprised many viewers of Saturday’s pay-per-view for not seizing the moment to legitimize himself during his in-cage interview with Joe Rogan.
He explained why his only words were for Jon Jones to get his sh*t together.
“At the end of the day…I’ve been doing this for five years,” he said. “And you guys know that competition drives me. Five months ago I was crying in front of each and every one of you because [Jones] beat me. So I’d love to compete against him. But he’s going to be away for awhile.”
This is the UFC 187 undercard blog for the UFC 187 event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.There will be six fights on the UFC 187 undercard. John Dodson vs. Zach Makovsky, Dong Hyun Kim vs. Josh Burkman, Uriah Hal…
This is the UFC 187 undercard blog for the UFC 187 event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Fighting on the UFC’s showroom floor (PPV) is all about compromise, of course, and anybody who tells you otherwise is a fibber. Jon Jones turned the light heavyweight division into a bunch of has-beens by becoming the most dominant champion of his half-era, yet right now — just when the spotlight was supposed to be on him — he’s tucked away some place searching for his soul. Jones was on tonight’s UFC 187 mega-event, then off. These things happen.
The compromise was getting Daniel Cormier, who was training for a fight with Ryan Bader when his fortunes changed for the better. He’ll stand in against Anthony Johnson, who became a hulk after his Bruce Banner days as a welterweight. With no Cormier, the people of New Orleans now get a headliner of Tim Boetsch against Dan Henderson. So it goes.
To love this sport is to make peace with reiteration.
And of course there’s Khabib Nurmagomedov, who many suspect is a champion in bloom. He hurt himself before his fight with Donald Cerrone and morphed into John Makdessi. These days fighting is all about just that kind of happenstance, baby. Should Makdessi fill in for Nurmagomedov by knocking Cerrone through the cage links he would become an automatic contender in the lightweight division. In no other sport does whatever crawls out of left field get so relevant so fast.
The lone constant on the big three fights of UFC 187 is Vitor Belfort versus Chris Weidman for the middleweight title. Until they touch gloves, though, this thing will feel…precarious. This is the third time the UFC has booked this fight. As the old cliché goes, let’s make sure there aren’t any banana peels on the walkway as they come out. (Ahem).
What does all this mean? That UFC fans have learned to feel at home between the stumps of frustration and salvation. The UFC matchmakers, Sean Shelby and Joe Silva, are always playing a game of Jenga when putting together these cards. Occasionally, like at UFC 151 and UFC 176, when the wrong piece is removed, the tower just falls over. Sometimes, like at UFC 187, we trade oranges for tangerines.
But, you know what? The truth is, a changing fight card is the only kind of fight card. That’s the reality.
And, you know what else? Between the plight of icons and the threat of injuries, the harrowing weight cuts and all the scary letters (OOC, WADA, NAC, ABQPD), there’s a beauty to this sort of uncertainty. When a card happens as it was originally drawn up — which, to paraphrase judge Doc Hamilton and take him out of context, is “rarer than a pound of hummingbird tongue” — there’s a feeling of achievement that accompanies it. The fight is to get to the fight. We understand that the path to the Octagon is actually a minefield.
What we’ve also grown to understand more, in all its depth, is that chaos is part of the deal. Chaos is what happens in the cage. It’s also what happens outside of the cage. Chaos is Jon Jones, and the UFC. Chaos can never be mainstream, but there’s something about its wanton capabilities. When suddenly Cormier is back into a title fight after losing his bid at UFC 182 against Jones, that’s a twist in the drama that then carries a new kind of allure: The old second chance. Jon Jones’ downfall becomes another opportunity for Cormier. The subtext in this case is all about Jones. The new narratives aren’t horrible; they’re just new.
The vamping (and then revamping) of hype has become the game within the game.
Imagine if Makdessi makes good on his fight with Cerrone. Cerrone was primed for a title shot. So was Nurmagomedov. That fight made sense. “Making sense” in the UFC is a bit like making flatulent noises with your palms in your armpits. There are the intentions, and then there are the realities. The reality is that Makdessi can steal a show that he was never meant to be on. This sport is unique like that. Fighters, in many ways, are just lotto balls.
The show must go on.
So how good is UFC 187 in its final draft? It’s still pretty damn good — actually pretty phenomenal — from top to bottom. The story lines remain intact at the top. The match-ups all the way down to the prelims are great. We’ve barely noticed the alterations. In this sport you’ve got to roll with the punches.
In this sport it’s all about how you punctuate.
It is what it is!
It is what it is?
It is what it is.
Fighting on the UFC’s showroom floor (PPV) is all about compromise, of course, and anybody who tells you otherwise is a fibber. Jon Jones turned the light heavyweight division into a bunch of has-beens by becoming the most dominant champion of his half-era, yet right now — just when the spotlight was supposed to be on him — he’s tucked away some place searching for his soul. Jones was on tonight’s UFC 187 mega-event, then off. These things happen.
The compromise was getting Daniel Cormier, who was training for a fight with Ryan Bader when his fortunes changed for the better. He’ll stand in against Anthony Johnson, who became a hulk after his Bruce Banner days as a welterweight. With no Cormier, the people of New Orleans now get a headliner of Tim Boetsch against Dan Henderson. So it goes.
To love this sport is to make peace with reiteration.
And of course there’s Khabib Nurmagomedov, who many suspect is a champion in bloom. He hurt himself before his fight with Donald Cerrone and morphed into John Makdessi. These days fighting is all about just that kind of happenstance, baby. Should Makdessi fill in for Nurmagomedov by knocking Cerrone through the cage links he would become an automatic contender in the lightweight division. In no other sport does whatever crawls out of left field get so relevant so fast.
The lone constant on the big three fights of UFC 187 is Vitor Belfort versus Chris Weidman for the middleweight title. Until they touch gloves, though, this thing will feel…precarious. This is the third time the UFC has booked this fight. As the old cliché goes, let’s make sure there aren’t any banana peels on the walkway as they come out. (Ahem).
What does all this mean? That UFC fans have learned to feel at home between the stumps of frustration and salvation. The UFC matchmakers, Sean Shelby and Joe Silva, are always playing a game of Jenga when putting together these cards. Occasionally, like at UFC 151 and UFC 176, when the wrong piece is removed, the tower just falls over. Sometimes, like at UFC 187, we trade oranges for tangerines.
But, you know what? The truth is, a changing fight card is the only kind of fight card. That’s the reality.
And, you know what else? Between the plight of icons and the threat of injuries, the harrowing weight cuts and all the scary letters (OOC, WADA, NAC, ABQPD), there’s a beauty to this sort of uncertainty. When a card happens as it was originally drawn up — which, to paraphrase judge Doc Hamilton and take him out of context, is “rarer than a pound of hummingbird tongue” — there’s a feeling of achievement that accompanies it. The fight is to get to the fight. We understand that the path to the Octagon is actually a minefield.
What we’ve also grown to understand more, in all its depth, is that chaos is part of the deal. Chaos is what happens in the cage. It’s also what happens outside of the cage. Chaos is Jon Jones, and the UFC. Chaos can never be mainstream, but there’s something about its wanton capabilities. When suddenly Cormier is back into a title fight after losing his bid at UFC 182 against Jones, that’s a twist in the drama that then carries a new kind of allure: The old second chance. Jon Jones’ downfall becomes another opportunity for Cormier. The subtext in this case is all about Jones. The new narratives aren’t horrible; they’re just new.
The vamping (and then revamping) of hype has become the game within the game.
Imagine if Makdessi makes good on his fight with Cerrone. Cerrone was primed for a title shot. So was Nurmagomedov. That fight made sense. “Making sense” in the UFC is a bit like making flatulent noises with your palms in your armpits. There are the intentions, and then there are the realities. The reality is that Makdessi can steal a show that he was never meant to be on. This sport is unique like that. Fighters, in many ways, are just lotto balls.
The show must go on.
So how good is UFC 187 in its final draft? It’s still pretty damn good — actually pretty phenomenal — from top to bottom. The story lines remain intact at the top. The match-ups all the way down to the prelims are great. We’ve barely noticed the alterations. In this sport you’ve got to roll with the punches.
Three years ago UFC president Dana White said he was uninterested in having women compete in the UFC.
Today, he is guaranteeing that his women’s bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, will shatter pay-per-view records if and when she ever tang…
Three years ago UFC president Dana White said he was uninterested in having women compete in the UFC.
Today, he is guaranteeing that his women’s bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, will shatter pay-per-view records if and when she ever tangos with Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino in the Octagon.
White appeared on the Jim Rome show on Wednesday and gushed over her pioneering champion, while at the same time speculating about how huge a clash with Cyborg would be for Zuffa.
“I don’t know [who wins], I think that’s why the fight is so exciting,” he said during the interview. “There’s no denying that Cyborg’s a beast, man. She’s tough, and many people believe — including me — that Ronda’s the best in the world and the best female fighter ever. So it’s one of those fights that’s very intriguing. And I’ll tell you this, Jim, when that fight happens I guarantee you that fight does over two million pay-per-view buys. It will be massive.”
When Rome reiterated the number — which would be the biggest PPV event in UFC history, surpassing UFC 100 which did a little over 1.5 million buys — White didn’t balk.
“Yeah, definitely. Definitely.”
With Rousey having appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, on HBO’s “Real Sports,” and on the Howard Stern Show — all while releasing her book, My Fight/Your Fight — White said he believed in Rousey’s star power. He also talked about how she’s not only a transcendent figure in competition, but in how professionally she carries herself outside the Octagon.
“She’s the greatest athlete that I’ve ever worked with, period. I wish I had 10 Ronda Rouseys,” he said.
He also stated that Rousey clears over millions of dollars in sponsorship money.
“She’s laser-focused on her career and what she wants to do,” he said. “None of these guys want to do PR; she’ll do any PR you ask her to do. She’ll even do PR to try and help somebody else’s fight. We need her to do things, a lot of activation with sponsors…no problem, she’s there. And then when she leaves the sponsors call her and say she was unbelievable to work with.
“I mean, that woman is making over $3 million dollars a year in sponsorship.”
Rome pointed out that Justino had been critical of Rousey, even as she’s appearing on so many media platforms and promoting her new book. Asked what his response to Justino’s criticisms were, White laughed.
“Who would you rather be, Cyborg or Ronda?” he said. “Cyborg just always sounds like she’s trying to get the fight with Ronda; all she has to do is make 135 pounds and we’ve got a fight.
As to whether he thought Justino could make the weight, White said everybody’s hope is that she does.
“I want that fight,” he said. “Ronda wants that fight, and I think everybody else wants to see that fight. Supposedly, sometime before the end of this year [Cyborg]’s supposed to cut down to 135 pounds, she will fight in Invicta, and if she fights that fight and wins, then Ronda will be next.”
After scoring the most impressive win of his career against Mark Hunt last week in South Australia, Stipe Miocic made his bid to challenge for the heavyweight title. Of course, whether the UFC grants him that shot remains to be seen.
And with fellow contenders Travis Browne fighting the resurgent Andrei Arlovski on May 23 at UFC 187, Miocic could end up on the outside looking in. It’s still a little bit up in the air as to who will face the winner of UFC 188’s unifying title bout between interim champion Fabricio Werdum and actual champ Cain Velasquez.
Yet during an appearance on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, the former Cleveland State wrestler Miocic said it’s not really that debatable. When asked directly if he thought he should be the No. 1 contender after the sustained beating he put on Hunt, Miocic didn’t beat around the bush.
“Yes I am, yeah,” he said. “I feel that I am and I feel that I deserve it.”
Miocic said that his camp has been in contact with the UFC to discuss the title shot, but that that everything is very preliminary right now.
“My manager’s talked a little bit, nothing much more than that,” he told Ariel Helwani. “So we’ll see what happens. I just beat the fifth-ranked guy decisively. I feel like I deserve it. I showed that I belong. I showed that, especially in that fight before even though I lost against the former champ [Junior] dos Santos. I’ve been through a five-round fight twice. So I want a shot at the title.”
The 32-year-old Miocic is 7-2 in the UFC (13-2 overall), and is coming off the TKO of Hunt in Adelaide. Before that, though, he and former heavyweight champion dos Santos went toe-to-toe for five rounds at UFC on FOX 13 in Phoenix. Though he ended up on the wrong end of a unanimous decision, Miocic thinks he showed enough of his mettle to stay in the top contender’s spot.
Before the dos Santos decision, Miocic defeated Fabio Maldonado, Gabriel Gonzaga and Roy Nelson respectively. Yet it was his work against Hunt over the course nearly 23 minutes that everybody has on their minds.
The fight was nearly called on a couple of occasions, with Miocic even pleading with referee John Sharp at one point as he rained down blows on “The Super Samoan.” That the fight went an additional two rounds was a topic of debate in the aftermath.
Asked if he was wondering what he had to do to get the referee to stop the fight, Miocic instead complimented Hunt’s granite chin.
“Yeah, I mean, I was doing whatever I could, but it’s the fight game so I just had to keep going until I get that W no matter what,” he said. “Mark’s as tough as they come, man. He’s got a great chin. The guy can take it better than anyone. He’s a tough guy.
“I thought I had it in the third.”
Miocic said that he had no problem with Hunt’s corner not stopping the fight.
“I wouldn’t want my corner throwing in the towel no matter what,” he said. “I wouldn’t want my corner to do that.
“There’s always that puncher’s chance, too.”
After scoring the most impressive win of his career against Mark Hunt last week in South Australia, Stipe Miocic made his bid to challenge for the heavyweight title. Of course, whether the UFC grants him that shot remains to be seen.
And with fellow contenders Travis Browne fighting the resurgent Andrei Arlovski on May 23 at UFC 187, Miocic could end up on the outside looking in. It’s still a little bit up in the air as to who will face the winner of UFC 188’s unifying title bout between interim champion Fabricio Werdum and actual champ Cain Velasquez.
Yet during an appearance on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, the former Cleveland State wrestler Miocic said it’s not really that debatable. When asked directly if he thought he should be the No. 1 contender after the sustained beating he put on Hunt, Miocic didn’t beat around the bush.
“Yes I am, yeah,” he said. “I feel that I am and I feel that I deserve it.”
Miocic said that his camp has been in contact with the UFC to discuss the title shot, but that that everything is very preliminary right now.
“My manager’s talked a little bit, nothing much more than that,” he told Ariel Helwani. “So we’ll see what happens. I just beat the fifth-ranked guy decisively. I feel like I deserve it. I showed that I belong. I showed that, especially in that fight before even though I lost against the former champ [Junior] dos Santos. I’ve been through a five-round fight twice. So I want a shot at the title.”
The 32-year-old Miocic is 7-2 in the UFC (13-2 overall), and is coming off the TKO of Hunt in Adelaide. Before that, though, he and former heavyweight champion dos Santos went toe-to-toe for five rounds at UFC on FOX 13 in Phoenix. Though he ended up on the wrong end of a unanimous decision, Miocic thinks he showed enough of his mettle to stay in the top contender’s spot.
Before the dos Santos decision, Miocic defeated Fabio Maldonado, Gabriel Gonzaga and Roy Nelson respectively. Yet it was his work against Hunt over the course nearly 23 minutes that everybody has on their minds.
The fight was nearly called on a couple of occasions, with Miocic even pleading with referee John Sharp at one point as he rained down blows on “The Super Samoan.” That the fight went an additional two rounds was a topic of debate in the aftermath.
Asked if he was wondering what he had to do to get the referee to stop the fight, Miocic instead complimented Hunt’s granite chin.
“Yeah, I mean, I was doing whatever I could, but it’s the fight game so I just had to keep going until I get that W no matter what,” he said. “Mark’s as tough as they come, man. He’s got a great chin. The guy can take it better than anyone. He’s a tough guy.
“I thought I had it in the third.”
Miocic said that he had no problem with Hunt’s corner not stopping the fight.
“I wouldn’t want my corner throwing in the towel no matter what,” he said. “I wouldn’t want my corner to do that.
