Stipe Miocic had all the makings of a champion when he first stepped into the UFC eight years ago.
Not surprisingly, the Ohio native would eventually reach that goal by defeating Fabrício Werdum at UFC 198. While Miocic would suffer two setbacks during his journey to the UFC Heavyweight Championship – one being a loss to Stefan Struve and the other to Junior dos Santos – that didn’t stop the fighter’s momentum for long.
Miocic’s list of big names he’s defeated includes Alistair Overeem (former Strikeforce Heavyweight and K-1 World Grand Prix Champion), Andrei Arlovski (former UFC Heavyweight Champion), Mark Hunt (former 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion), and Daniel Cormier (former UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion).
However, before the 37-year-old reached the top of the mountain, he had to make an impact in the promotion first, which started in his debut bout against Joey Beltran at UFC 136 in Houston, Texas. Going in, Miocic was in the midst of a six-fight winning streak, kicking ass in North American Allied Fight Series and Moosin, before making his way to the top promotion in North America.
Check out Stipe Miocic’s impressive performance against Joey Beltran below: