Stipe Miočić (42) on the night of Saturday to Sunday, November 16 to 17, after a year’s delay and as many as three years since the last fight in the octagon against Jon Jones in the fight for the UFC heavyweight title- and. Towards the end, we repeat Mio’s career in a three-part feuilleton. The first tells about his growing up and coming to the cage, and the second about his greatest victories.
After six victories in the professional competition and 11 in total in his career, it was time to go one step further. The contract from the UFC arrived, and Stipe had no doubt that he wanted to try himself in the world’s most famous cage. And he pulled on checkered pants like Cro Cop, stepped into the Octagon against Joey Beltran and won by decision. It was only the beginning of a thorny and difficult path.
He knocked out Phillip de Fries in the first round, finished Shane del Rosario with elbows. It started off great, but then he was greeted by the ‘Dutch skyscraper’. Stipe slipped, Stefan Struve “caught” it excellently and “punched” Miočić with a right direct shot. It was Miočić’s first, not last, defeat in the UFC, but maybe he needed it because he started even stronger after that.
He came back and by the decision of the judges won first one of the toughest beards of Roy Nelson and then another three-round war against Gabriel Gonzaga, tactically outsmarted two “hard punches” and had two more victories on his account. In Brazil, in front of the visiting audience, in 35 seconds of the first round, he only ‘put to sleep’ Fabio Maldonado, and then Junior Dos Santos was waiting for him in his best days.
It was a tough five rounds, and after the fight Brazilč’s face was bloody, while Stipe was duly disfigured. In the end, Herb Dean raised Brazilč’s hand and Stipe proved to be a tough nut to crack and both received the award for best meč dinner. Then ‘Cigano’ returned to winning ways after losing the fight for the heavyweight title against Cain Velasquez.
Earned the applause of the packed Curitiba Arena
But it was Stipe who got the chance to attack the title earlier. First, after four rounds of heavy beatings, he knocked out one of the top fighters in the history of the octagon, Mark Hunt, in the fifth. At one point it no longer made sense to count how many blows Hunt received, but the statisticians took care of it anyway and counted an incredible 105 blows to the head and a total of 361 blows that hurt Hunt. In the fifth round, however, the legendary fighter stumbled, and John Sharp had to stop the fight.
After that, in January 2016, he went against ‘Pitbull’, Andrej Arlovski, and that fight didn’t last long. He landed a right hook and a few more punches for the seventh victory in Miočić’s UFC career. The then champion Fabricio Werdum was supposed to fight at the end of February in a rematch against Cain Velasquez, but the Mexican gave up his title shot due to a back injury, and not long after, Fabricio Werdum also gave up due to an injury. But, meč for the title was moved to May, and the new opponent was – Stipe Miočić!
And that in the grotto of the Brazilian Curitiba Arena. The Brazilian again, the visiting audience again, volleys of whistles from the stands. The main fight is tonight, of course, and the fans are in ecstasy, because only – the Brazilians won that night. And then it was the turn of their favorite, ‘Vai cavalo’ entered the octagon, and the opening song was accompanied by shouts and thunderous applause. And then Stipe entered the octagon with volleys of boos and wishes for Werdum to finish him off as soon as possible.
Stipe was careful, and Werdum tried like a champion to show who is in charge on his home court and threw a couple of very good middle kicks, and the audience sang at the top of their lungs. Werdum tried with a single leg takedown, and shortly after that, without thinking, he went after Miočića after he ‘marked’ him with a direct, but he didn’t even hope for such a counter. He landed a right hook, and Werdum just ‘dive’! Stipe completed the job and after the referee’s interruption, he ran towards his corner and jumped over the fence.
– I am the champion of the world – shouted Miočić in the arms of his team and after that he came back to congratulate Werdum on a good fight.
And after that, the whistles stopped. Stipe greeted the packed Curitiba Arena, and 45,000 people applauded the American of Croatian roots because Stipe deserved it. He didn’t say a word against Werdum before the fight, he had a lot of respect for the Brazilian legend who reciprocated in the same way, and in the most beautiful way possible, the crowd in Curitiba reciprocated after he knocked out their favorite .
The firefighter from Cleveland became the heavyweight champion of the UFC, and a month later he married Ryan Marie and the couple started a family life, and Stipe still continued to do what he loves – train, but also be every day on duty at the fire station.
A fireman with a big heart
Marie is a real estate agent, and Stipe usually returns to everyday life at the fire station a week or two after the fight. Where with the belt of the world champion and the unofficial title of the strongest man in the world, he still cleans toilets, brings coffee to everyone in the fire station…
– Enjoys being a fireman, that’s him. And he adores his colleagues, they are like brothers to him – said Cary, who met Stipe as a firefighter.
Her brother, in fact, is Miočić’s colleague and met them at a party in 2012. Even thenč Earning $750,000 from one fight, Stipe applied for a full-time job as a firefighter last year, as he has been doing it part-time for the last ten years, as needed.
All of them went through first aid training, so Stipe saved many lives and lost many. He massaged hearts, gave medicine, but also comforted unfortunate people in the worst days of their lives. A full-time permanent firefighter in the US earns $52,000 a year.
– I like to help someone in need. Whether he’s a little sick or having a heart attack, I love when I can help until we get to the hospital. Or as a firefighter, day and night knowing that there is a chance to help someone, I simply love that. I don’t like being in a suit at the table. If I can’t help people, I feel like my life has no purpose and meaning, it would be boring – says Stipe.
In the fire station, he is not a champion, but one of them. He cleans the toilet, cooks and serves coffee, but his colleagues say that he is mostly a prankster. He and his best friend Ken Papesh.
– When he is recognized in the hospital or on the field, he is not comfortable – reveals Papesh.
But please everyone for a photo, an autograph…
– He is so normal that for people in Cleveland he is a hero, their Rocky Balboa – said Maria, who goes to all of Stipe’s fights.
– It would be strange for him to get out of the ring and not see me.
His coach is Marcus Martinelli, who reveals:
– Stipe is a big kid. Once he came to training in a bunny costume! He likes to joke a lot, and on the other hand, he is a killer. And he will be a very, very good coach. I see this because Stipe very quickly sees the intention and movements of his opponent in every fight and reacts. And also in the gym, when we train, out of the corner of his eye, he sees what someone is doing and immediately tells him, “Are you holding your hand high or low” and things like that. He notices really well.
But, Marie, is it harder to be a firefighter’s wife or an MMA fighter’s wife?
– Uh, a million things go through your head. Really, his victory is the last thing on my mind, just to get out of the ring healthy. And each new round is more and more torture – Mrs. Miočić used to say, and later they also became parents, which greatly directed Stipa’s struggles.