Stipe Miocic was on a three-fight winning streak when he faced Alistair Overeem in the main event of UFC 203 in September 2016. But more important than that stretch of victories was the fact that Miocic was putting his UFC heavyweight title on the line for the first time when he faced Overeem.
Miocic captured the title in May 2016 with a stunning first-round knockout of Fabricio Werdum in Werdum’s home country of Brazil. Miocic’s first attempted defense of that title came in his home state of Ohio. Miocic had opened as a slight favorite when the fight was announced, by the time the contest rolled around, the bout was essentially a pick ‘em.
Overeem opened the fight in a defensive posture. He circled the outside of the cage, while Miocic stalked the center of the octagon. As UFC commentator Joe Rogan said of Overeem, “He’s literally running.”
That “running” stopped when Overeem blasted Micoic with a straight left that put the champion on the mat. Sensing an opportunity to finish the fight, Overeem dropped to the ground and attempted to cinch up a guillotine choke with nearly four minutes left in the round. Overeem was unable to secure the hold and the two fighters got back to their feet.
Once standing, Miocic was once again the aggressor, while Overeem stayed defensive. Miocic broke through those defenses with less than a minute left in the stanza. He took the challenger to the mat and put him on his back. From there the champion postured up and unloaded with ground strikes. It was those punches that turned out Overeem’s lights and brought an end to the fight at 4:27 of the first round.
Miocic has successfully defended his title twice since then. His three straight defenses put him in the UFC record book for most consecutive heavyweight title defenses with the promotion. He looks to extend that streak to four straight when he meets UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 226.
UFC 226 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
Before that fight takes place, you can watch Miocic’s knockout victory over Overeem right here.
