Can Miocic break the heavyweight curse?
In a piece for B/R, Chad Dundas breaks down whether new champion Stipe Miocic could become the first to break the heavyweight curse.
The UFC heavyweight division has a curse. The first UFC heavyweight champion was Mark Coleman, who defeated Dan Severn on 7 Feb 1997, at UFC 12, in Dothan, Alabama. 19 men have held the title since. And no one has ever defended the title more than twice.
In a piece for B/R, Chad Dundas breaks down whether new champion Stipe Miocic could become the first.
At 33 years old, he’s a veritable spring chicken in a weight class dominated by graybeards and the stars of bygone days. At 15-2, it feels like he’s still in the midst of his prime as a fighter—maybe just coming into it. Those two things alone set him apart from most of the competition.
Miocic lost a 2012 bout to Stefan Struve via TKO and then rattled off three straight wins before losing a questionable decision to Junior Dos Santos in December 2014. Aside from that, he’s come mostly as good as advertised.
At 6’4, 240 pounds, he’s a midsized, athletic heavyweight who can out-slug most opponents his own stature, while out-maneuvering and out-quicking those who are bigger. To date, 12 of his career wins have ended in stoppages, and his striking-heavy style means he can make an exciting matchup with just about anybody.
There have been immediate calls for a Werdum rematch, but in the interest of busting the title picture out of its seemingly endless cycle of do overs, Alistair Overeem may have the inside track for No. 1-contender status.
After a rocky start to his own UFC run, Overeem has righted the ship with four straight wins. He’s widely considered on the downside of a long career but will still make a compelling and difficult test if he does get the green light for a title fight.
Assuming Miocic retains his belt there, it seems logical that the winner of the scheduled bout between Velasquez and Travis Browne at UFC 200 would be up next. That would shape up as a doozy.
It’s foolish to try to pretend we know how long Miocic can be champion, or even which tests will greet him. In truth, we should probably expect delays, misfires and a fair amount of chaos.
But with Miocic at the helm, perhaps for the first time in a long time there is some cause to feel optimistic about the UFC heavyweight division.
it sure would be cool if Miocic broke the curse. The sport needs more this:
ICYMI: Is this the greatest title-winning celebration ever? #AndNew @StipeMiocicUFC https://t.co/rYIbFQQEpW
— UFC (@ufc) May 16, 2016
