Stipe Miocic: 5 Defining Moments

He broke up what was thought to be a logjam atop the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division, the title spending the better part of six years resting on the shoulders of three men: Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum. Whether or not Stipe Miocic can avoid the fate of his predecessors remains to be seen. Miocic will defend the heavyweight crown for the first time when he collides with former Strikeforce and Dream champion Alistair Overeem in the UFC 203 main event on Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The Euclid, Ohio, native will do so a little more than 10 miles from where he grew up. Miocic has deep ties to The Buckeye State, as he was a two-sport standout — he wrestled and played baseball — at Cleveland State University. The 34-year-old Strong Style Fight Team representative will enter the cage on the strength of a three-fight winning streak, having compiled a stellar 9-2 record since he arrived on the scene in the UFC in 2011.Though his career has been relatively short, Miocic has enjoyed his share of defining moments. Here are five that stand out:1. Quieting 40,000-Plus Miocic silenced a throng with one swing of his hammer. He knocked out Werdum to become the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder in the UFC 198 headliner on May 14 at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil. An unconscious Werdum hit the canvas 2:47 into round one, an eerie hush passing over the 40,000-plus fans in attendance. The two men traded punches and kicks before Werdum made his move — and his mistake. The Kings MMA export charged forward and walked into a counter right hook from the backpedaling Miocic. His lights were out before he landed on the mat, his reign atop the heavyweight division and six-fight winning streak at an end.2. Super Savagery Before he cut down Andrei Arlovski in less than a minute to become the No. 1 contender for the heavyweight title, Miocic ran into Mark Hunt. He took care of the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix winner with fifth-round ground-and-pound in their UFC Fight Night headliner on May 10, 2015, at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, Australia. Hunt, having absorbed a frightening amount of punishment across 20-plus minutes of combat, finally wilted 2:47 into round five. Clean boxing, repeated takedowns and heavy and efficient ground-and-pound were all on display for Miocic. He struck for takedowns in all five rounds, assumed a …

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