Rocky Balboa is one of the most recognizable names in movie and sporting history. The Italian Stallion. The Pride of Philly. The movie series has put out seven installments chronicling the life of a boxer named Rocky. His bouts against Apollo Creed, Ivan Drago, and Clubber Lang are among the most memorable images in all of fighting history. Rocky is a hero in Philly, even having a statue in his likeness erected. But Rocky Balboa is really just a character in a movie. Stipe Miocic, The Pride of CLE, The Croatian Domination*, is not.
Born in Euclid, Ohio, Stipe Miocic attended Eastlake North High School and then Cleveland State University. Competing at the Division 1 level for baseball and wrestling, Stipe was brought in to train with Dan Bobish at Strong Style MMA while also becoming a paramedic and firefighter. After joining the Strong Style gym and training in boxing for eight months, Stipe switched to MMA where he eventually won the NAAFS heavyweight championship. Stipe would go on to sign a contract with the UFC in 2011.
On January 20th, Stipe defeated Francis Ngannou by unanimous decision to become "arguably" the greatest heavyweight champion in UFC history. I feel comfortable calling him that because Stipe now holds the record of most consecutive title defenses in heavyweight history. His bout against Ngannou was about as close to Rocky against Drago and Clubber Lang as we may ever see in the real world. With a three-inch reach advantage as well as 20 pounds on Miocic, Ngannou also holds the record for the strongest punch force ever. That being without the aid of Russian scientists and performance-enhancing drugs. Unlike Rocky in his bouts against Lang and Creed, Stipe bested Ngannou on his first try to retain his belt. Like Rocky, Stipe came from somewhere and rose to rightfully earn his place in history. Stipe also helped ignite one of the greatest sports runs in all of Cleveland sporting history.
On May 14th, 2016, as I sat with a group of my closest friends, Stipe Miocic handed Fabricio Werdum his first loss in five years, making Stipe the heavyweight champion of the world. In his post-fight interview, he proudly and ecstatically announced to the world that Cleveland finally had a champion. This being in reference to the fact Cleveland had not won a major sports title since 1964. Less than a month later, the Lake Erie Monsters won the Calder Cup, bringing it home to Cleveland for the first time since 1964. Only a week later, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Championship for the first time in franchise history, ending a major sports drought that lasted 52 years. Now, Rocky was pretty incredible, but did he do anything quite like that?
My favorite part about Stipe is his visceral connection to the city of Cleveland. In UFC, you often hear when fighters hail from Brazil or Ireland and how much pride in their homes those fighters have. It becomes a huge part of their identity and something that their fans often relate to on a level beyond simply cheering for a fighter. They are cheering for their home. They become patriots and these fighters are pseudo-soldiers. Fighters from New York or California don't usually have the same passion that Stipe does for his hometown. Cleveland has more than enough passion to go around for their teams. There is plenty leftover for a guy who seems to share the same pride in their city as they do.
Stipe Miocic, The Croatian Domination, The Pride of CLE, The Baddest Man on the Planet. If you haven't already been watching, you've missed MMA history. But don't worry too much about it now. When Stipe faces off against Cain Valasquez (probably), you can tune in to witness greatness again. A victory against Valasquez would be unprecedented and quite frankly unrealistic. That's right, you heard it here. If Stipe wins his next bout against whoever is opposing him, it most certainly should not have happened. But if anyone is going to continue to do the impossible, it's Stipe Miocic.
*It should also be said that during his fights Stipe's nickname is not The Croatian Domination. He is known simply as Stipe Miocic which is, quite honestly, bolder than any nickname could be.
**All biographical information was obtained from Stipe Miocic's Wikipedia page.
