Who stole Mirko Crocop’s shorts!? If you saw UFC 136 last weekend then I’m sure you know who, but I bet you don’t remember his name.
Stipe Miocic is a fromer NCAA div. I Wrestler and a Golden Glove Champion. Not only does he have a solid wrestling base and an amateur boxing title, he has leg kicks to strike from the outside and 80 inches of reach. And if that doesn’t impress you, he’s won all of his previous fights by T/Ko except for one that he won via submission due to leg kicks. This was his debut fight in the UFC. Needless to say he’s got all of the potential qualifications you need to be on MMASucka’s Prospect Watch.
His opponent Joey Beltran is no push over either. He has never been stopped in any of his fights, and he is famous for his extremely tough chin and inhumane ability to take punishment. He is also well known for putting on exciting fights by pushing the pace and being skillful in the art of brawling.
Round by Round:
Round 1: Stipe controlled the majority of the round landing multiple leg kicks that were set up with the boxing, attacking the leg every time Beltran covered up in anticipation of a big punch. Miocic also managed a quick single-leg takedown on Beltran and landed some ground and pound to decisively win the round.
Round 2: Beltran starts the fight strong and presses the action to successfully bring the fight on the inside. However Miocic manages a takedown due to Beltran’s eagerness and lands several ground strikes, but let’s Beltran up with 4 min’s left in the round. Beltran aggressively strolls forward with his hands down possibly as a psychological tactic to decrease Miocic’s confidence. As Beltran starts to land looping punches from the inside, Miocic goes for a knee that gets caught and leads to a takedown for Beltran. Beltran lands some clean elbows on the ground and some good right hands as Miocic uses the cage to pull himself back up. Beltran again presses the action landing punches on the inside, however leaving an opening for another takedown by Miocic. Beltran takes advantage of a submission attempt to get back up and the two starts to brawl causing the crowds to explode. Both were landing heavy looping punches, but in my opinion Miocic was landing the cleaner strikes and causing more damage, though it really doesn’t show on Beltran (that tough son of a gun). This round was much closer than the 1st, however I would have given it to Miocic for the 1-up on takedowns, despite Beltran controlling the pace and managing to land punches on the inside more effectively than in the first.
Round 3: Miocic starts the round much like the 1st using technical striking, staying on the outside, and landing some heavy inside leg kicks. They grapple towards the fence with Beltran against the fence and Miocic goes for a very nice and well executed takedown which leads to the mount position. Beltran turns and manages to get back up. The two start to brawl again, but Miocic fights at a better distance and lands some nice straights as well as a heavy right leg kick. Miocic goes for a takedown that gets stuffed, however Beltran seems to be gassing as he doesn’t get back up as fast as he should and Miocic gets on top, straight into half guard. Miocic lands some ground and pound and seems to be going for submissions, which eventually leaves the opeining for Miocic to get full mount, then back mount. With only 10 seconds left though the bell rings leaving the rest to the judges.
Miocic wins by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Look forward to this guys fights in the future, as he is an extremely well rounded fighter and an excellent addition to the UFC’s heavyweight roster.
good write up