Stipe Miocic’s 2016 is tough to top
Heavyweight champion dominated his opponents by winning in first round of all three fights
CALGARY — It was mid-May in Brazil and Fabricio Werdum was soaking in the adoring cheers from his hometown crowd.
Then the bell rang and less than three minutes later, Werdum was lying on the ground while Stipe Miocic was screaming in disbelief as his hand was lifted and he became heavyweight champion.
The May knockout was the second of three first-round finishes for the UFC’s heavyweight champion in 2016, and while Miocic might not be as popular among mainstream sports fans as the Conor McGregors or Michael Bispings of the world, inside of the octagon there was nobody who had as strong a year as the Cleveland native.
There’s no question McGregor made the biggest impact on MMA, but his loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 194 is a blemish on his record that can’t be ignored.
Bisping beat Anderson Silva, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson, becoming the middleweight champion along the way. The Englishman had a great year, but the calibre of his opponents simply doesn’t stack up to the vanquished foes on Miocic’s resume.
First, the 34-year-old kicked off the new year by obliterating Andrei Arlovski with a first-round knockout on Jan. 2 at UFC 195.
Then, he sent Werdum to the mat with that sharp right hand in May at UFC 198.
Finally, he survived an early onslaught from Alistair Overeem and knocked out the massive Dutchman — in the first round, again — at UFC 203 in September.
Three fights, three first-round finishes. What more could you ask?
Miocic is probably never going to be the sort of transcendent superstar that the UFC can rely on to headline major fight cards. He still works as a firefighter in his native Ohio, doesn’t talk trash and explains his success in terms of hard work.
In today’s UFC, that doesn’t sell nearly as well as running your mouth and dressing in the flashiest designer suits.
But whether or not Miocic is among the UFC’s best salesmen is besides the point. Picking a fighter of the year shouldn’t be about marketing, it should be about what happens inside the octagon, and when the cage door shut in 2016, there was nobody better than Stipe Miocic.
Making moves
Speaking of guys who had a great year in 2016, Gegard Mousasi is back on the grind and looking for a big fight.
Mousasi is riding a four-fight winning streak and has steadily climbed the middleweight rankings throughout the year, but he still needs at least one more victory over a true contender before he can really be considered for a title shot.
So on Wednesday, Mousasi took aim at former 185-pound champion Chris Weidman.
“(The UFC) offered u the fight days ago @ChrisWeidmanUFC. Suddenly u have disappeared. Accept the fight already, I am waiting, Pal,” Mousasi wrote on Twitter.
Considering that Mousasi is coming off a year in which he beat Uriah Hall, Vitor Belfort, Thiago Santos and Thales Leites, he’d be a tough fight for someone like Weidman, who has now last two in a row.
But if Mousasi is being truthful when he says the UFC has already sent a bout agreement, it offers some insight into how they view the Dutchman.
If the UFC is trying to book Mousasi against him, it’s pretty clear the bosses consider Weidman to be among the middleweight elite as well.
Frustrated
Featherweight champion Jose Aldo spoke with MMAFighting. com’s Ariel Helwani on Tuesday and it’s clear that the Brazilian had a few things he needed to get off his chest.
Aldo was very clear that he considers himself the true featherweight champion despite the fact that McGregor was stripped of the belt and never actually lost the title he won last year.
“I knew Conor wasn’t coming back, everyone knew he wasn’t coming back,” Aldo said. “That’s the real belt. I’m the one who has defended this belt. I’ve been the king of this division for a long time, I’ve never not seen myself as a champion. I lost a fight, that’s it.”
While the UFC’s handling of the McGregor situation warrants criticism, Aldo has done nothing wrong and the criticism that’s been lobbed his way from some circles was unfair.