Johnny Manziel, Browns will be on FOX for second straight week
December 12, 2014Overzealous hugger apologizes to Johnny Manziel
December 12, 2014Stipe Miocic is on the precipice of something. Saturday night, the gigantic Clevelander is a big underdog as he faces former UFC heavyweight champion, Junior Dos Santos. You never want to be an underdog – certainly not this big of one anyway – but it’s the perfect opportunity for Stipe. He’s ranked number four among UFC heavyweights and is coming off what turned out to be a relatively easy fight against an undersized, last-minute replacement in Fabio Maldanado. The man that Maldanado replaced will finally be standing across the octagon from Stipe Miocic this weekend in Phoenix Arizona to help figure out exactly where Stipe Miocic stands in the UFC heavyweight division.
The more you watch UFC fighting, the more you realize that the odds don’t actually mean that much. Junior Dos Santos has name recognition. He’s a former champion and if you’re sauntering up to the sportsbook betting window, it’s probably more comfortable to put money down on the guy you’ve seen holding the belt before. You only have to look at Junior Dos Santos’ history to see that the odds don’t mean a whole lot.
Junior was an underdog – 10 to 1 at one point – in his first fight in the UFC back at UFC 90. I certainly didn’t know who he was, and UFC fans didn’t know much about him, but Fabricio Werdum – the favorite – found out quickly. In just one minute and 20 seconds, Fabricio Werdum found himself on the receiving end of a huge uppercut and staring down a loss that almost nobody saw coming.
That fight became part of the six-fight win streak that took Junior Dos Santos to his title shot against Shane Carwin at UFC 131 in 2011. Dos Santos became champ and defended his title two more times before giving it up in his rematch with Cain Velasquez, the current champion. It all started, however, with that one fight against a legitimate contender – Fabricio Werdum – when nobody gave Junior Dos Santos a chance.
It’s with that in mind that we go into Stipe Miocic’s fight on national television against Junior Dos Santos. It pits the numbers two and four fighters in the UFC heavyweight division against each other. It means an end to the treading water that Stipe Miocic essentially was forced to do against Fabio Maldanado on short notice.
That’s the way I’m thinking about this fight for Stipe Miocic this weekend. This is like Johnny Manziel starting his first career game with three games to go in the season for the Browns. It’s Carlos Santana getting a call-up to the Majors in June of 2010. It’s Edward Norton standing with Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro as Frank Oz yelled “Action!” for the movie The Score. For a UFC fighter, this is that kind of moment. It’s a fighter looking at the peak of the mountain after climbing halfway up already. Will he make it to the top?
I’m incredibly nervous about this fight. Not in a bad way, but nervous with anticipation. I’m desperately hoping to see a Cleveland guy take that big step that makes Dana White and the UFC have to apologize if they can’t deliver a title shot within the next calendar year. I’m desperately hoping to watch Stipe Miocic having his arm raised at the end of the night Saturday night with a chance to tackle one of the biggest pedestals that the UFC offers in its fight promotion.
Stipe’s a massive underdog, but that doesn’t mean anything unless you’re holding a receipt from the sportsbooks in Vegas. Stipe Miocic can win this fight, and I hope to see it.
Check out some more about Stipe and his training. Go to about 2:50 in this video to watch.
2 Comments
Junior hits like a truck.
Good luck Stipe!!
There’s 2 keys going into this one.
1. Is Junior Dos Santos the same after the last fight he had with Cain? There’s a very real possibility he just doesn’t come back and look like the killer he used to be. He’s also coming from a much longer layoff than Stipe is. So you’ve gotta think about ring rust, etc. as well. What Junior Dos Santos is going to be in the cage on Saturday?
2. Can Stipe use his wrestling well? JDS is a fantastic boxer, maybe the best in the whole sport. Stipe’s going to need there to be the threat of his takedowns to keep Junior on his toes. If Dos Santos can easily shrug off Stipe’s wrestling, I think our boy’s in for a rough night.