UFC Champ Stipe Miocic: It Was a Lot Easier Fighting Fighting in Brazil Than Cleveland

In terms of fan support for hometown fighters, Cleveland offered one of the most electric atmospheres in recent memory at UFC 203.That scene reached a crescendo for Stipe Miocic’s walkout and subsequent knockout victory over Alistair Overeem in the evening’s main event at Quicken Loans Arena. While the Independence, Ohio, native appreciated the love, he admittedly felt far less pressure when he initially claimed the heavyweight crown with a first-round stoppage of Fabricio Werdum in front of more than 40,000 hostile Brazilian fans at UFC 198 last May. “I would totally rather fight in Brazil. It was a lot easier for me, honestly,” Miocic said at the post-fight press conference. “Just the last four months have been crazy in my life. He [Overeem] thought I was partying and all that, but fortunately I was training really hard for this fight. I got married, did all that. I’m going to take some time for myself, go on a honeymoon with my wife, treat her.” It doesn’t appear that Miocic will return to defend the title before the conclusion of 2016. The Strong Style Fight Team stalwart isn’t asking for an extended layoff, but he does need a little bit of a layoff to …

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