Preview: UFC 203 ‘Miocic vs. Overeem’

The crown jewel of the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division will once again hang in the balance when Stipe Miocic defends his title for the first time against onetime Dream and Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem in the UFC 203 main event on Saturday at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. In the co-headliner, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum will try to get back on track in a rematch against Travis Browne, who serves as a short-notice fill-in for the injured Ben Rothwell. The rest of the five-fight main card features a welterweight clash pairing former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Phil Brooks with Mickey Gall, a bantamweight tilt pitting Team Alpha Male patriarch Urijah Faber against Jimmie Rivera and a women’s strawweight affair matching Jessica Andrade with Joanne Calderwood.Let us take a closer look at each UFC 203 “Miocic vs. Overeem” matchup, with analysis and picks:UFC Heavyweight Championship Stipe Miocic (15-2) vs. Alistair Overeem (41-14)THE MATCHUP: Miocic has a tall order on his hands for his first title defense. Overeem is one of the most experienced fighters in the UFC heavyweight division. In fact, only Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett have been at it longer, and Overeem has more fights than both of them, not even counting a successful kickboxing career that saw him win the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix. It is because of that kickboxing background that Overeem is known as a striker, but in truth he is an MMA native. Having practiced judo as a child, Overeem began his MMA …

continue reading in source www.sherdog.com