MMA fans can watch Stipe Miocic take on Alistair Overeem at UFC 203 via an online live stream. Overeem, a former Strikeforce champion, appeared to have the OH native rocked, landing a shot in the opening seconds and going for a guillotine choke.
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“I was here during the parade”. As much talk as there is for fighters from Brazil carrying their country or Conor McGregor and Ireland, Miocic carries Cleveland, but the pressure doesn’t seem to faze him.
Miocic, ranked No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA heavyweight rankings, said he was serious about taking a short break from preparing for a fight. The most obvious candidate would be Anthony Johnson, who is coming off a brutal 13-second KO win over Glover Teixeira, but Dana White has been talking about a Jones/Johnson matchup instead.
Alistair Overeem: Suspended indefinitely pending neurological clearance from a doctor. Believe in yourself. Sometimes the outcome isn’t what you desire it to be.
“It does give you a little extra boost”, the Dutchman said.
The two then had a back and forth battle on the feet that went the full distance though the Brazilian landed a significant amount more strikes than the American and looked by far the dominant of the two. We’ve been here, done that. His only two wins came against Brendan Schaub, who has since retired, and Matt Mitrione, who is now in Bellator.
While Overeem will have to handle a home-field advantage for Miocic fighting in front of his Cleveland fans, the challenger plans on using the energy inside Quicken Loans Arena to his advantage.
“It’s all about if he can stay focused”, Overeem said. “It’s a lot easier for me, honestly”.
As far as a potential bout goes, Jones paid tribute to Miocic on Twitter late Sunday night while teasing the possibility as something that could happen one day.
“Of course, Stipe is going to be the hometown hero”.
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A win for the Brazilian will surely set him up for a chance to reclaim the heavyweight belt. But everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. I want to be a heavyweight champion and a light-heavyweight champion. We’re going to cement my legacy. We normally get an in-depth breakdown from Patrick later in the week, but we realized, why wait? “There will be history and the after-party for some people will not be as nice”.
