One thing I’ve always lauded pre-champion Stipe Miocic for was that he took on all-comers. Whether it was against a streaking Andrei Arlovski or the ever-dangerous Mark Hunt, he fought everybody and won convincingly.
So when he stepped up to challenge then-champion Fabricio Werdum in front of a frenzied Brazilian crowd of 45,000, there were no surprises there.
Now, remember, this fight happened in 2016. It was a time when Werdum was widely regarded as a future heavyweight GOAT. But that didn’t matter to good old Stipe, who exuded a champion’s swagger the moment he walked out.