Cleveland has a world champion, baby, and his name is Stipe Miocic.
Stipe Miocic took absolutely no time at all to knock Fabricio Werdum out cold in UFC 198’s main event and silence the 45,000 strong crowd inside the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil.
Werdum came sprinting at the challenger from the get-go, and his constant forward pressure saw Miocic begin back-pedaling out of harm’s way.
Using his opponent’s aggressive style against him, Miocic fired a heavy right hand which landed square on Werdum’s chin causing him to take a nose dive into the canvas. The Brazilian appeared to be out cold before he even hit the mat and referee Dan Miragliotta instantly jumped in to stop it, handing Miocic the knockout victory at 2:47 of the opening round.
https://twitter.com/thefightbuzz/status/731740469433122816
The victory saw Miocic claim the heavyweight title and a $50,000 performance of the night bonus. After the fight, he dedicated the victory to his team, his fiancee and the people of his hometown of Cleveland.
Speaking to UFC reporter Bel Mota backstage, the former baseball player outlined his celebration plans.
“I can’t wait to get home, show my Mom [the belt], celebrate with my team, get married to my beautiful fiancée – doesn’t get any better than that.”
.@stipemiocicufc pays tribute to his team after winning the Gold. #UFC198 https://t.co/eD1ESYN6pQ
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) May 15, 2016
