August 18, 2019 - The 36-year-old Croatian-American Stipe Miocic defeated 40-year-old American Daniel Cormier by a knockout in the fourth round of the UFC 241 fight held in Anaheim, California. Stipe has thus won sweet revenge on Cormier and is bringing back the UFC Heavyweight Champion title to Ohio after he lost it to Cormier in Las Vegas 13 months ago.
HRT reports that the fight between Miocic and Cormier lasted more than 19 minutes, in which the title defender had more significant blows (123-98). It seemed that until the decisive moment in the fourth round, Cormier would be the one to take home the victory.
Although Stipe received almost twice as many blows by the fourth round, and most of them in the head, he did not kneel and refused to give up against the world champion.
In the fourth of grueling combat, Miocic changed his tactics and began to use more blows to the body of his rival. At the beginning of the fifth minute of the fourth round, Miocic hit Cormier with a hook, which was followed by another body shot that visibly weakened the American fighter. Miocic then punched at the liver, pushed Cormier to the fence, and stunned him with a hit to the head and several punches at the left and right for a brutal knockout to end the fight.
Almost in the same way, just before the end of the first round, Cormier snagged the world title from Miocic 13 months ago in Las Vegas. The Croatian-American fighter has not entered the ring since then, waiting for the opportunity for a rematch. Not only did Stipe get the fight, but he used it to regain his belt, and probably sent the 40-year-old Cormier into retirement.
BADDEST MAN ON THE PLANET #AndNew #Again #SM pic.twitter.com/MwYU1G02Ru
— Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocic) August 18, 2019
Until his defeat to Miocic, the former US wrestler was the only undefeated UFC heavyweight champion. But in Anaheim, the tradition continues in UFC heavyweight title fights. Namely, in this Californian city, no heavyweight in history has managed to defend the title, and Cormier became the fourth to lose the belt.
Miocic is not only the UFC Heavyweight champion once again, but he has defended his title more than anyone else in UFC heavyweight history. Recall, Miocic has defended his belt against Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos, and Francis Ngannou.
On Saturday night in Anaheim, not only did Stipe win back his heavyweight title, but he also earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
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