Stipe Miocic was born on August 19,1982 and is an American professional mixed martial artist.
50 Facts About Stipe Miocic
2.
Stipe Miocic currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a former two time UFC Heavyweight Champion.
3.
Stipe Miocic holds the record for fight-night bonus awards, with nine, the most in the UFC heavyweight division's history.
4.
Stipe Miocic was born and raised in Euclid, Ohio, on August 19,1982, the son of Croatian immigrants Kathy and Bojan Miocic.
5.
Stipe Miocic's parents separated when he was still a child and he continued to live with his mother, initially with grandparents, and later lived with his stepfather and younger half-brother Jonathan.
6.
Stipe Miocic played baseball and American football and wrestled while at Eastlake North High School.
7.
Stipe Miocic received interest from Major League Baseball teams during his collegiate years at Cleveland State University and Trevecca Nazarene University.
8.
Stipe Miocic played Division II baseball at Coker College his junior year of college.
9.
At Trevecca, Stipe Miocic was a well-liked student majoring in communication studies.
10.
Stipe Miocic initially trained in mixed martial arts but soon changed to boxing.
11.
Stipe Miocic initially fought for NAAFS, where he won the NAAFS Heavyweight Championship.
12.
On June 14,2011, it was announced that Stipe Miocic had signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC.
13.
Stipe Miocic made his UFC debut against Joey Beltran on October 8,2011, at UFC 136 and won the fight via unanimous decision.
14.
Stipe Miocic faced Phil De Fries on February 15,2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs Ellenberger.
15.
Stipe Miocic won the fight via first-round KO, and in the process won a "Knockout of the Night" award.
16.
Stipe Miocic faced promotional newcomer Shane del Rosario on May 26,2012, at UFC 146.
17.
Stipe Miocic faced Stefan Struve on September 29,2012, at UFC on Fuel TV 5.
18.
Stipe Miocic lost the fight via TKO in the second round.
19.
Stipe Miocic was scheduled to face returning veteran Soa Palelei on June 15,2013, at UFC 161.
20.
Stipe Miocic faced Gabriel Gonzaga on January 25,2014, at UFC on Fox 10.
21.
Stipe Miocic won the fight via unanimous decision.
22.
Stipe Miocic was expected to face Junior dos Santos on May 24,2014, at UFC 173.
23.
Stipe Miocic won the fight by TKO due to punches early in the first round and received a "Performance of the Night" bonus as well.
24.
Stipe Miocic faced Mark Hunt on May 10,2015, at UFC Fight Night 65.
25.
Stipe Miocic won the one-sided fight via TKO in the fifth round.
26.
At the time of the stoppage, Stipe Miocic was ahead on all three scorecards.
27.
Stipe Miocic was expected to face Ben Rothwell on October 24,2015, at UFC Fight Night 76.
28.
In turn, Stipe Miocic was quickly rebooked and faced Andrei Arlovski in a title eliminator on January 2,2016, at UFC 195.
29.
Stipe Miocic defeated Arlovski via TKO at 0:54 in the first round.
30.
Stipe Miocic was briefly scheduled to replace the injured Cain Velasquez and fight Fabricio Werdum for the UFC Heavyweight Championship on February 6,2016, at UFC Fight Night 82.
31.
Stipe Miocic eventually faced Werdum at UFC 198 on May 14,2016.
32.
Stipe Miocic caught Werdum with a short right hook counter while backpedaling away from a flurry of punches in the first round, earning the championship and giving Werdum his first defeat since June 2011.
33.
Stipe Miocic was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.
34.
On September 10,2016, Stipe Miocic made his first title defense at UFC 203 against Alistair Overeem.
35.
Stipe Miocic made his second title defense against Junior dos Santos on May 13,2017, at UFC 211 in a rematch.
36.
However, this time Stipe Miocic started strong and took control of the octagon early.
37.
Stipe Miocic faced Francis Ngannou on January 20,2018, at UFC 220.
38.
Stipe Miocic dominated Ngannou for five rounds using strikes with clinch or ground control following takedowns, winning by unanimous decision and breaking the record for most consecutive title defenses for the heavyweight championship with his third successful defense.
39.
Stipe Miocic received congratulations from both the President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic.
40.
Stipe Miocic was the favorite heading into the bout, mainly due to his natural size and power advantage as well as his dangerous striking on the feet.
41.
Stipe Miocic lost the fight via knockout in the first round, ending his championship reign.
42.
Stipe Miocic won the fight by TKO in the fourth round after landing several clean left hooks to the body and following it up with punches to the head, reclaiming the title.
43.
Stipe Miocic won the fight via unanimous decision, this time with both fighters receiving eye pokes during the fight.
44.
Stipe Miocic faced Francis Ngannou in a rematch on March 27,2021, at UFC 260.
45.
Stipe Miocic lost the title via knockout in the second round.
46.
Stipe Miocic considers it possible that he will become a full-time firefighter once he retires from MMA.
47.
Stipe Miocic married Ryan Marie Carney on June 18,2016, at the Divine Word Catholic Church in Kirtland, Ohio.
48.
On January 20,2018, Stipe Miocic announced that the couple are expecting their first child.
49.
Stipe Miocic can understand Croatian, though he is not fluent and has been learning the language.
50.
On November 22,2022, Stipe Miocic announced the death of his father.