Top 5: Stipe Miocic Inflection Points

History has no choice but to remember Stipe Miocic as one of the greats.

The Strong Style Fight Team cornerstone maintained his death grip on the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title with an easy-to-call unanimous decision over Francis Ngannou in their UFC 220 headliner on Jan. 20, 2018 at TD Garden in Boston. All three members of the cageside judiciary turned in 50-44 scorecards for Miocic, who became the first man to ever successfully defend the heavyweight championship on three consecutive occasions.

Ngannou cracked the Ohio native more than once with right hands in a compelling first round, but his wild swings did not yield the desired result and instead came at a high price. By the start of the second, the challenger was badly fatigued and far less explosive. Miocic turned to takedowns and clinches from then on, drowning the Cameroon-born Frenchman with rinse-and-repeat tactics. Ngannou’s situation went from bad to worse to downright nightmarish, with the champion either feeding him ground-and-pound or forcing him to carry his weight on all fours. The championship rounds offered little in the way of intrigue, where Ngannou had difficulty with the most rudimentary of movements. As a result, his 10-fight winning streak died with a whimper. By the time the proverbial smoke cleared, Miocic had outlanded “The Predator” by a 200-33 margin and piled up more than 15 minutes of control time.

Eight years later, Miocic’s lopsided rout of the Xtreme Couture rep still ranks as one of the most profound inflection points of his career. Four more to consider:

Stipe Miocic vs. Fabricio Werdum

UFC 198
May 14, 2016 | Curitiba, Brazil
Miocic punched out the Brazilian and laid claim to the undisputed heavyweight title for the first time in the first round of their main event at Arena da Baixada. An unconscious Werdum fell to the canvas 2:47 into Round 1, as an eerie hush enveloped the 45,207 fans in attendance. The two combatants exchanged punches and kicks before Werdum leaned out too far over his skis. He charged forward and walked directly into a counter right hook from the backpedaling Miocic. Werdum was visiting another dimension by the time he landed on the mat, his reign atop the division having come to an end.

Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier

UFC 226
July 7, 2018 | Las Vegas
Cormier put away the Marcus Marinelli protégé with punches and captured the heavyweight crown in the first round of their headliner at T-Mobile Arena. “DC” slammed the door 4:33 into Round 1, where he became the second fight in UFC history—Conor McGregor was the first—to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously. Miocic threw power punches in combination but moseyed too willingly into the clinch against the two-time Olympic wrestler and reigning light heavyweight champion. After a brief pause in the action due to a blatant eye poke from Cormier, the Ohio-based firefighter again engaged the American Kickboxing Academy ace at close range. Cormier fired a right hook on the break that folded the him where he stood. A burst of hammerfists followed, knocking Miocic unconscious before stunned onlookers.

Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier

UFC 241
Aug. 17, 2019 | Anaheim, California
Miocic reclaimed the undisputed heavyweight championship when he punched out “DC” in the fourth round of their main event at the Honda Center. Cormier bowed out 4:09 into Round 4 of their rematch. He was in control for a majority of the fight, only to lose his way. Cormier executed a slam takedown in the first round, advanced to half guard and poured on the punishment with ground-and-pound. The Lafayette, Louisiana, native spent the second, third and parts of the fourth rounds flexing his hand speed with crippling jabs and powerful right hands. Midway through the fourth, Miocic tweaked his approach and focused on the champion’s midsection with a series of left hooks, the last of which set up a right cross that began three-time collegiate All-American’s downward spiral. He pushed Cormier to the fence and swarmed him with punches to prompt the stoppage.

Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou

UFC 260
March 27, 2021 | Las Vegas
Ngannou avenged his 2018 defeat in resounding fashion when he blew through the Trevecca Nazarene University graduate with punches and seized the heavyweight title in the second round of their headliner at the UFC Apex. Miocic clocked out 52 seconds into Round 2. Ngannou fought at a frighteningly measured pace from the start, picking his spots while he probed for openings. He sprawled out of a Miocic takedown in the first round, punished him with crushing ground-and-pound and set the stage for what was to come. Ngannou put the Euclid, Ohio, native on unsteady feet with a devastating left hook early in Round 2, ate a right hand in return and then uncorked another left hook that sent the champion careening backward, his right leg bending awkwardly beneath him. One final hammerfist drew the curtain and gave rise to the latest “Baddest Man on the Planet.”