The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Miocic draws inspiration from his tiny daughter
Stipe Miocic wants nothing more than to regain the heavyweight championship, bring the belt home.
Stipe Miocic is as competitive as any fighter in the UFC.
He wants nothing more than to regain the heavyweight championship, and bring the belt back to Northeast Ohio. He gets his long-awaited rematch Aug. 17 in Anaheim, Calif., at UFC 241. There, he and champion Daniel Cormier are set to swap punches for the right to the title of “Baddest Man on the Planet.”
Beyond all the punches, wrestling holds and battles along the cage is another factor — Miocic’s infant daughter Meelah.
When his daughter is old enough, Miocic hopes to tell her a tale with a happy ending — along with a message.
The tale’s message is about getting knocked down, but finding a way — and the courage — to get back up and keep fighting. Winning is the goal for Miocic every time he enters the octagon, but on Aug. 17 he wants to show Meelah coming back from adversity and fighting back can be just as important.
“I just want to show my daughter it’s not how you get knocked down, it’s how you get up,” Miocic said recently at his gym Strong Style. “You gotta keep moving forward no matter what life throws at you.”
That theory was put to the test last July in Las Vegas, where Miocic relinquished the belt to Cormier via a firstround knockout.
That ended his two-year run as champion, but more important things were happening in the Miocic family. A short while later after the loss to Cormier, Miocic and his wife Ryan welcomed Meelah. In an instance, the married couple’s life changed forever.
“It’s one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had,” said Miocic last summer after the birth of Meelah. “I’ve never been so proud of creating something or doing something in my life.”
Away from the joy of parenting, the last year for Miocic has been about getting a rematch with Cormier. It hasn’t been easy. There has been plenty of back and forth from both sides, including a war of words. Cormier has fought once since last July, and that was an easy win over Derrick Lewis last December.
Miocic, meanwhile, hasn’t fought since his loss to Cormier last July. That time off might be viewed as a negative for some, but not for one key person in the Miocic camp.
“It’s kind of a blessing in disguise because we got a break,” said Mioicic’s manager Jim Walter. “He got to clear his head.”
Walter said his client needed the break after a UFC heavyweight record three straight title defenses, getting married and he and Ryan having Meelah.
The latter, however, hasn’t just changed the No. 1-ranked heavyweight’s life. It’s changed his mindset entering a bout Miocic calls the defining moment of his UFC career.
“I think the biggest thing that Stipe’s told me is it’s more about proving to his 1-year-old daughter that you can battle through adversity,” said Walter. “You can come back and be champion. That’s the example he wants to set for Meelah.”
The stage is set for Miocic, who is fighting for more than just a championship belt.
“I want her to be proud of what I’ve done,” he said. “Show my daughter it’s doesn’t matter what anyone says, you do what you want, train hard, do the right things and make the right decisions, you’re going to go a long way.’ “
He’s got that chance on Aug. 17.