UFC 203 was never meant to surpass the star-studded pay-per-views of 2016 thus far, but it arguably exceeded all expectations we had. Following a string of strange incidents in the week preceding, the Cleveland-based event went off with a bang. Here’s a quick recap of the odd fight week prior to UFC 202; Alistair Overeem was heckled by a fan at the pre-fight media scrum, and the man yelled ‘His chin is done, he is a glass cannon, Overeem, Overeem.’ Bizarre enough, then Ray Borg dropped out of his fight with Ian McCall leaving ‘Uncle Creepy’ without an opponent.
Surely it couldn’t get any more peculiar. It did though, as an elevator accident struck CB Dollaway from his light-heavyweight debut against Francimar Barroso. Donald Cerrone offered to step in on 18 hours notice but it never happened. Then came the main card, and before we even get to Miocic vs. Overeem we have Fabricio Werdum front kicking Edmond Tarverdyan in the co-main event. Following all this insanity, the main event title fight would surely provide some straight-up fireworks.
Stipe Miocic vs. Alistair Overeem
The trend continued in the main event as Alistair Overeem seemed strangely hesitant to engage. Stipe Miocic was in trouble early on though. ‘The Reem’ rocked the champion sending him to the canvas, but opted to go for a choke instead of trying to go for the knockout. This proved to be a pivotal point in the fight, as Miocic escaped and eventually scored a nasty knockout finish himself.
Overeem’s ‘running’ in the fight was weird enough, but in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan the Dutchman claims he had submitted the champ. During the early exchange where he’d dropped the Cleveland native, ‘The Demolition Man’ says Stipe tapped out.
“I clearly felt him tap out. The referee didn’t jump in. I let go (because I thought he tapped) but the referee did not step in. I feel I’m the better fighter, but just not tonight.”
Joe Rogan swiftly went to the big screen to take a look at the choke, but it doesn’t appear that Miocic tapped out. Is there another angle where we’d be able to see it, or is it a case of sour grapes or simply a misunderstanding on Overeem’s part?
Stay tuned for more UFC 203 news, reviews and updates!
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