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#3 vs. Alistair Overeem – UFC 203
After Miocic won the UFC Heavyweight title in May 2016, he wasn’t exactly faced with an easy first defense. Instead, former StrikeForce, DREAM and K-1 champion Alistair Overeem – one of the most feared strikers in MMA – was signed to face him, in Miocic’s hometown of Cincinnati for good measure. Overeem had been on a hell of a run, taking out Stefan Struve, Roy Nelson, Junior Dos Santos and Andrei Arlovski, and there was an argument that the champion was actually the underdog coming into the fight.
At first, it looked like Miocic was indeed outgunned. After an odd moment that saw Miocic chase the challenger across the cage, Overeem landed a huge left hand that sent the champion crashing down. The Dutchman quickly pounced and locked up a guillotine, and the fight looked practically over – but somehow, Miocic managed to get his head free.
Despite being wobbly, Miocic got to his feet and began to wing heavy punches at Overeem, who continued to throw back, albeit seemingly with less confidence than before. Suddenly it was Miocic who seemed in command, and when Overeem attempted to run to avoid another exchange, the champion was able to hit a takedown from the scramble that ensued – and once he landed on top, he knocked ‘The Reem’ clean out with some brutal punches from inside the guard.
Sure, the fight had an air of sloppiness about it, but it didn’t matter; not only was it a hugely entertaining clash, but Miocic had been able to retain his title over a highly dangerous opponent in dramatic – and violent – fashion.
