Last nights two card night featured two first round finishes which were definitely highlight reels in both perspectives. And one man who was set for a much more challenging opponent certainly came prepared... that man is Stipe Miocic.
Originally scheduled to fight Junior dos Santos at conclusion of Brazil's third season of the Ultimate fighter, the former champion was forced to withdraw due to a hand injury. And certainly one to answer the call was none other than Fabio Maldonado. And although not a natural heavyweight, it's safe to say that after watching his performances with Glover Teixeira and Kyles Kingsbury, he is not afraid to slug it out.
Unfortunately that game plan would not be implemented in his favour however, as within opening seconds of the bout the former Golden Gloves boxing champion tagged Maldonado with a straight right which rocked him. Immediately smelling blood in the water, Miocic tagged him with another straight right which dropped Maldonado, than proceeded to swarm on him until the referee Mario Yamasaki forced the stoppage at a jaw dropping 35 seconds into the first round.
Miocic is now on a three fight winning streak and climbs to 12-1 with an octagon record of 6-1. He's scored KO/TKO finishes over the likes of Phil De Fries, the late Shane del Rosario and most recently Maldonado while defeating Joey Beltran, Roy Nelson and Gabriel Gonzaga on the judges scorecards. His only loss comes to Stefan Struve back in 2012.
Maldonado, a natural light heavyweight now holds a record of 4-4 inside the octagon with wins over James McSweeny, Roger Hollet, Beltran, and Gian Villante while dropping losses to Kyle Kingsbury, Igor Pokrajac, Glover Teixeira, and most recently Miocic.
Author: Alex Cochrane
External source: fightline.com
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Man, Stipe Miocic has some killer hand speed for a heavyweight! Seriously those two straight rights were vicious! I'm in a personal belief that he could give JDS a run for his money. Cain on the other hand? That's a different story.
Originally scheduled to fight Junior dos Santos at conclusion of Brazil's third season of the Ultimate fighter, the former champion was forced to withdraw due to a hand injury. And certainly one to answer the call was none other than Fabio Maldonado. And although not a natural heavyweight, it's safe to say that after watching his performances with Glover Teixeira and Kyles Kingsbury, he is not afraid to slug it out.
Unfortunately that game plan would not be implemented in his favour however, as within opening seconds of the bout the former Golden Gloves boxing champion tagged Maldonado with a straight right which rocked him. Immediately smelling blood in the water, Miocic tagged him with another straight right which dropped Maldonado, than proceeded to swarm on him until the referee Mario Yamasaki forced the stoppage at a jaw dropping 35 seconds into the first round.
Miocic is now on a three fight winning streak and climbs to 12-1 with an octagon record of 6-1. He's scored KO/TKO finishes over the likes of Phil De Fries, the late Shane del Rosario and most recently Maldonado while defeating Joey Beltran, Roy Nelson and Gabriel Gonzaga on the judges scorecards. His only loss comes to Stefan Struve back in 2012.
Maldonado, a natural light heavyweight now holds a record of 4-4 inside the octagon with wins over James McSweeny, Roger Hollet, Beltran, and Gian Villante while dropping losses to Kyle Kingsbury, Igor Pokrajac, Glover Teixeira, and most recently Miocic.
Author: Alex Cochrane
External source: fightline.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Man, Stipe Miocic has some killer hand speed for a heavyweight! Seriously those two straight rights were vicious! I'm in a personal belief that he could give JDS a run for his money. Cain on the other hand? That's a different story.