Stipe Miocic is an American MMA fighter of Croatian origin, the only three-time UFC heavyweight champion (over 93 kilograms). Lost his title in July 2018 after being defeated by Daniel Cormier. Miocic combines his sports career with the work of an ordinary firefighter in Cleveland.
Boxing and NAAFS performances
Stipe Miocic was born in September 1982 in the city of Euclid (Ohio) in a family of immigrants from Croatia. From early childhood, he was involved in various sports - football, baseball, wrestling, boxing.
Stipe Miocic made his debut in the ring as part of the Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournament. Soon, NAAFS, a North American organization specializing in mixed martial arts (MMA), drew attention to the young promising fighter. NAAFS signed a contract with Stipe, and he won the first five fights in this organization by knockout. This allowed him to compete for the NAAFS champion title with its then owner, Bobby Brent. As a result, Miocic, carrying out one attack after another, forced Brentz to surrender.
Athlete success in UFS
Shortly after the fight with Brentz, Miocic moved from NAAFS to the UFC, the most prestigious MMA organization to date.
For the first time Miocic entered the octagon on October 8, 2011, Joey Beltran became his rival. The fight lasted until the very final bell, after which Stipe was named the winner by unanimous decision of the judges. This is one of the few decision wins in his entire career.
For the next four years, Miocic played consistently in the UFS, and during this time he lost only two times - to the Dutchman Stefan Struve in September 2012 and to the Brazilian Junior Dos Santos in December 2014.
One of the most important fights in Miocic's career was the fight against Brazilian Fabrizio Werdum on May 26, 2016. The UFC heavyweight title was at stake here, with Miocic in contender status. The American fighter was able to knock out Werdum already in the third minute of the first round and became the owner of the championship belt.
Stipe Miocic subsequently defended his title three times. On September 19, 2016, he knocked out the Dutchman Alistair Overeem, and on May 13, 2017, he defeated Junior Dos Santos by TKO. On January 20, 2018, he was to face a new challenger, the powerful Cameroonian Frenchman Francis Ngannou. This fight turned out to be very difficult and exhausting for Stipe. It lasted, in accordance with the UFS championship format, for five rounds (two more rounds than a regular fight), and the judges ultimately had to choose the winner. Miocic was objectively stronger, so the title remained with him.
On July 7, 2018, at UFC 226, a fight took place between Stipe Miocic and the strongest UFC light heavyweight fighter Daniel Cormier. Miocic was considered the favorite in this fight, but was knocked out in the first round. So he lost his championship belt.
Personal life
In June 2016, Stipe Miocic married Ryan Marie Carney, whom he had met for several years. She is five years younger than him and has a medical degree. Ryan actively supports her husband in all fights and promotes his social media accounts (Instagram and Twitter).
Interestingly, in Cleveland, where Stipe lives with his wife and little daughter (she was born in 2018), he has been officially serving as a firefighter for many years. Once a week, an MMA fighter goes on duty and does not want to quit this job, despite all his successes in professional sports.
