Stipe Miocic wins UFC heavyweight title for Cleveland
As a Cleveland native and fan of all the city’s professional sports teams, Stipe Miocic has suffered through championship disappointments for most of his life.
So he decided to do something about it.
Miocic knocked out Fabricio Werdum 2:47 into the first round to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 198 on Saturday night in Curitiba, Brazil.
“Cleveland, we’ve got a champion, baby,” Miocic screamed into the microphone to his fans more than 5,000 miles away back home.
Before the fight, the official Twitter accounts of the Cavaliers, Browns and Indians all wished him luck.
He didn’t need it.
When Miocic stumbled after an exchange, Werdum charged forward throwing punches looking to take advantage. But Miocic crushed him with a big right hand as he backpedaled that put the champion out cold and stunned the 45,000 fans into silence.
“I know you guys are against me, but you guys are amazing,” Miocic told the Brazilian crowd. “I practice going backwards all the time. I’ve got power.”
Werdum had not fought since winning the belt with a third-round submission of Cain Velasquez in June.
“Tonight he was better than I was,” the Brazilian said. “But I’m going to come back here, and I’ll be champion again.”
Top middleweight contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza mauled Vitor Belfort on the ground to solidify his claim to meet the winner of June’s title bout between champion Luke Rockhold and former champ Chris Weidman.
Souza took down Belfort early and cut his nose open with a series of elbows. After a brief stoppage to check the damage, Souza went back to work and landed punches and elbows until the fight was stopped at 4:38 of the first round.
“I deserve a title shot,” Souza said. “I think I’ve earned it. I deserve that fight.”
The UFC debut of Curitiba native Cris “Cyborg” Justino went pretty much as expected, as she knocked out Leslie Smith in 1:21 of the first round.
Smith was defending Justino’s hammerfists after she was knocked down and was unhappy with the stoppage, but Justino’s power was evident from the opening bell.
She landed several combinations before dropping Smith with a left hook, followed by a right hook.
“There is nothing better,” Justino said. “I am very happy, and I got in there very calm. I didn’t push hard, and I studied more. Many people who have followed me since the beginning were waiting for me to come to UFC. I’m very happy.
“The referee stopped it. My job was to punch. I admire Leslie for coming here, because she made my dream come true. I felt good.”
While Justino has been one of the world’s top female fighters for a long time, she has been unable to cut down to the UFC’s upper limit of 135 pounds. She was signed for a 140-pound catchweight bout to fight in her hometown.
Her future with the organization is unclear. She still holds the 145-pound belt in Invicta Fighting Championships and said she still wants to defend that title.
Blockbuster fights with Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm and UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate also are possible, but Justino didn’t call out any of them.
Former light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, another native of Curitiba, won a split decision over Corey Anderson.
Rua knocked down Anderson with punches in the final seconds of each of the first two rounds. Anderson controlled the action in the third, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the knockdowns.
“I am very happy,” Rua said. “Curitiba deserved such a show. Several champions were born here. I’m happy to represent my city with a victory. Today, I’m the happiest man in the world.”
Rua has won two straight fights for the first time since 2009.
Bryan Barberena upset his second consecutive undefeated prospect with a unanimous decision over Warlley Alves. The welterweight, a 5-1 underdog, also defeated Sage Northcutt in January.
“Keep giving me challenges,” Barberena said. “Give me a ranked guy, and I’ll knock him down, too. My opponents in the UFC have been a combined 33-1 before they fought me.”
Welterweight Demian Maia won his fifth straight fight with a third-round submission of Matt Brown in the featured bout of the preliminary card.
Maia took down Brown early in all three rounds and controlled position for almost the entire 15 minutes before finally securing a rear-naked choke with 29 seconds remaining.
“He was trained to protect his neck, and he did a good job,” Maia said. “I will improve that. Now, I hope my next fight is for the belt.”
The other three fights on the televised portion of the preliminary card also featured Brazilian fighters defeating Americans.
Middleweight Thiago Santos knocked out Nate Marquardt at 3:39 of the first round for his fourth straight win, including three first-round knockouts. Marquardt, a former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger, is 2-6 in his past eight fights and has been knocked out four times.
Lightweight Francisco Trinaldo won a unanimous decision over Yancy Medeiros, and John Lineker captured a unanimous decision over bantamweight Rob Font.
On the untelevised portion of the preliminary card, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira knocked out Patrick Cummins at 4:52 of the first round for his first victory since 2013. Nogueira had lost two consecutive fights and has dealt with injuries in the past few years.
Sergio Moraes and Renato Moicano each won split decisions.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj