Stipe Miocic is the New Croatian Sensation…For Now

In 1998, Pat Miletich went down to Brazil with dreams of becoming a UFC champion. He saw those dreams realized.

In 2016, Stipe Miocic went down to Brazil with dreams of becoming a UFC champion. He saw those dreams realized.

Coincidence?

…yeah. Probably. I mean, UFC does a lot of shows in Brazil now. It’s really not that surprising to see something like this happen in this day and age.

Still, that knockout of Fabricio Werdum though. Long live the heavyweight title curse.

The main event fight between Miocic and Werdum topped a stacked UFC 198 card that, overall, was an entertaining affair. The co-main event saw Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza assert himself as one of the top middleweight contenders by swarming Vitor Belfort and brutalizing him with punches and elbows on the ground. At this point, UFC really can’t deny him a middleweight title shot any longer.

Well, unless they choose to give it to Yoel Romero when he comes back. Or they go with Michael Bisping. Or they can run back Rockhold-Weidman one more time. Or they might throw it at Rashad Evans after he finally stops playing this “Will He? Won’t He?” game and drops down. Or they’ll just give the title shot away on a reality show…

The other notable fight on the card besides the main event was Cris “Cyborg” Justino finally making her UFC debut and destroying just like we always hoped she would. For as long as she’s been kept out of the UFC, there’s always been a question of whether she could handle UFC caliber competition. The Leslie Smith fight proved that…she can, I guess? I mean, Smith has never been that good but she’s always a game opponent and Cyborg ran through her without much trouble.

Or it was all thanks to a shady referee who can’t do his job. Either or.

The one thing that fight proved, other than confirming that Cyborg is a beast, is that UFC would be crazy not to book her for another fight. I don’t care if she can make 135 or not, even though she appeared to make 139 without any problems, she needs to fight in The Octagon again. Maybe we’ll have to wait for the new owners to take over before we see that happen…

Well, at least we know the heavyweights aren’t going anywhere and, when they fight, they usually deliver. That was true on Saturday, as Miocic separated Werdum from his consciousness with a vicious right hand to claim the UFC Heavyweight Championship and all the…um…pride and…prestige that goes along with it. Or something.

The biggest observation most people would have after watching that fight can be summed up as thus:

What the hell is wrong with you, Fabricio?

What the hell were you thinking chasing after Miocic with your chin out? You know his strength is his boxing, right? You were aware he came into this fight having won his last three fights by punching the shit out of his opponents, right? What, did you think that, just because you were able to stand with an oxygen deprived Cain Velasquez that you could just run up to Miocic, say “I dare you!” and not expect to get your shit wrecked?

I’ve always liked Werdum but that was bad. Really bad. Ronda Rousey chasing Holly Holm bad.

Y’know, it wouldn’t surprise me if Werdum maybe didn’t take his preparation for this fight as seriously as he should have, that he should have spent more time training in the days leading up to the fight and less time worrying about masks with his stupid face on them.

Then again, it would have been quite the sight if UFC didn’t ban the masks and Miocic knocked Werdum out with a sea of Werdums looking at him.

I bet the masks wouldn’t have been banned if Werdum had slapped a Reebok logo on them or something…

Anyway, whatever may be true about the days before the fight, we know what’s true about the days after it: Miocic is the new standard bearer. His is the story of a man who entered the UFC with a lot of potential, worked his way up the ranks, suffered defeats, learned from those defeats, and proved that he is the Baddest Man on the Planet™. He may have had to leave his Mirko Cro Cop inspired fight trunks behind, but the spirit of the fight those trunks represent lives on within him.

He could use some more head kick knockouts, though…

Still, he is the man…for now, anyway. I mean, he’s probably going to face Alistair Overeem next and, if Stipe wins that fight, Junior dos Santos, the last man to defeat him, is waiting in the wings. Cain Velasquez is circling the tank too. And Werdum will probably work his way back up to a rematch so he can show us how to fight by using your head but without actually using your head.

Don’t worry, Stipe. I’m totally sure you’ll get past all of these guys to assert yourself as the best heavyweight in UFC history. Totally.

Long live the heavyweight title curse.

Evan Zivin has been writing for 411 MMA since May of 2013. Evan loves the sport, and likes to takes a lighthearted look at the world of MMA in his writing…usually.