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UFC 203: Miocic vs. Overeem Sober Play by Play – Senseless Violence as Rule of Law
- Updated: September 12, 2016
The UFC Heavyweight division continues to bedazzle us as much as it puzzles. We have a heavyweight champion who has finally made a successful title defense. But does anyone feel confident in its stability? We cannot trust a cage fighting division that is not more deodorized today than it was yesterday.
But we can be entertained by it, and Stipe Miocic vs. Alistair Overeem certainly qualified.
Through a beer goggle prism, the fight resembled a demolition derby of overweight dispute. I feel like the abyss is still staring back at us in some ways. After all, Overeem would have made for a great champion. But then if he can’t even qualify as a contender, what merit does that statement even have? Why can’t I give Stipe enough credit? That’s precisely what this week’s sober play by play is here to find out.
Round 1
5:00-4:00
I couldn’t tell you much about Overeem’s gameplan. If there’s a reason his gameplan looked increasingly sloppy as the fight wore on, perhaps it has something to do with the way it started.
From the first twenty seconds or so Overeem would circle to his left for a few seconds, and the circle to his right for a few seconds. There’s nothing technically wrong with this kind of movement for out fighters, but at such a distance the conventional boxing wisdom is to move back and forth, saving lateral movements for mid to close quarter combat. Overeem is kind of wandering more than anything. Stipe almost catches him with a left hook right hand combination as the first 60 seconds are about to expire.
Overeem lands a stiff left kick to the body (4:08), and that’s when he does his first Usain Bolt impression (4:03). Stipe, already having deciphered Alistair’s erratic movement, tries to catch him with a high kick like one of Cormac McCarthy’s makeshift Southern weapons.
4:00-3:00
Rogan’s first chance to blow his larynx with his patented caustic screaming comes as Overeem connects on a massive overhand left (3:58). Alas, we get to some pretend controversy. First off, I’d like to just as soon pretend that we live in a universe where we …
