The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Still no clarity on Miocic’s next foe
Alistar Overeem defeated Fabricio Werdum at UFC 213 on July 8. But that doesn’t mean Overeem is next in line for a title shot against Stipe Miocic, Mark Podolski writes.
A bit of clarity might have been provided for Stipe Miocic’s next opponent.
Or perhaps not. At this point, time will tell.
Miocic’s next UFC bout is a big one. If the Eastlake North graduate wins it, he will be the first heavyweight champion in UFC history to defend the belt three straight times.
Who that next bout will be against continues to be a mystery, but a key result from UFC 213 in Las Vegas on July 8 could be telling, even if UFC president didn’t seem impressed.
Ex-champ Fabricio Werdum — the No. 1 heavyweight contender by UFC. com before July 8 — lost in the co-main event to Alistair Overeem.
It was third bout between Werdum and Overeem, who now holds a 2-1 lead in the trilogy, which dates back to 2006.
Overeem (43-15-1) won the three-round bout by majority decision, but many on social media believed it was closer than that. Werdum is now 21-7-1.
Overeem was the No. 3-ranked heavyweight before the bout.
Werdum did use a hard knee to the head that put Overeem on the canvas, but he couldn’t finish.
Now the big question is who gets the next shot to take Miocic’s championship belt.
It could be Overeem, which would mean a rematch from the September 2016 bout at Quicken Loans Arena in which Mioicic won by first-round knockout.
White said on Fox Sports 1 the Werdum-Overeem fight would not “put anyone in position to fight for a title.”
Overeem told reporters his win over Werdum “wasn’t the prettiest.”
It could mean No. 2-ranked Cain Velasquez moves up one spot to become the new No. 1 heavyweight contender. The former two-time champ, however, is battling injuries and has not fought since a win over Travis Browne on July 9, 2016.
UFC president Dana White recently said he expects Velasquez back in the fall.
Miocic’s next opponent might not be known until another key heavyweight bout is resolved.
On Sept. 9 at UFC 215, Junior dos Santos fights Francis Ngannou.
Ngannou is ranked No. 5, and dos Santos No. 4 among UFC heavyweights.
The winner of that bout could lay claim to a title shot, but if it’s dos Santos, things get a big murky.
Almost two months ago, Miocic knocked out dos Santos in the first round in Dallas to retain his belt. A Miocic-dos Santos rematch in, say, early 2018 doesn’t seem likely or one that would excite fight fans.
If Ngannou defeats dos Santos, that could be an intriguing opponent for Miocic, who’s 17-2 and now No. 4 in UFC.com’s pound-forpound rankings.
White didn’t guarantee a title for Ngannou if the French fighter defeats dos Santos.
“Let’s see how the fight goes,” White told reporters after UFC 213.
Yet another factor is when Miocic gets back into the octagon. He said after the dos Santos fight he needed time to “figure things out.” His coach Marcus Marinelli said his fighter needs a break.
Since winning the title from Fabricio Werdum in May 2016, Miocic has fought twice.
The dos Santos bout marked three fights in the last 12 months for Miocic.
Lastly, there’s also this: Miocic said he’s interested in a crossover fight with boxing champion Anthony Joshua.
All of which begs the question — when will Miocic fight next, and vs. whom?
The Overeem win against Werdum was perhaps a start, but it still seems like a long time until that question is answered.