Stipe Miocic played his cards well in 2019.
Despite many criticizing and questioning his approach to campaign for an immediate title shot rematch against then-champ Daniel Cormier, Miocic (19-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) stuck to his guns and left 2019 with a belt around his waist.
Having broken the record for most UFC title defenses at heavyweight, the 37-year-old Cleveland native entered his UFC 226 main event bout with Cormier as the most dominant and successful heavyweight champion in the company’s history. On that 2018 summer night in Anaheim, Calif., things couldn’t have gone much worse for the baddest man on the planet.
Miocic was knocked out by Cormier in the first round. It was a monumental win for Cormier, who became a dual champion in the promotion, having already held the UFC light heavyweight title going into the fight.
What filed in the history books was a short, clean right hand off the clinch by Cormier (and some follow-up ground-and-pound for assurance). There was an illegal eye poke from Cormier’s part early in the contest, but not much was made from it – even Miocic downplayed its effect.
Miocic remained on the sideline for the rest of year and entered 2019 not in the ideal circumstances to ask for another shot at Cormier. It was safe to assume that starting 2019, Miocic had many things going against him for a rematch.
He had inactivity accumulating. Champ Cormier had already defended the belt against Derrick Lewis following the fight with Miocic in July. Also, performance-based merit was not a thing in many people’s eyes because Miocic had lost cleanly in a decisive first-round knockout to Cormier
On top of that, Miocic’s chances of fighting for gold again were also being threatened by outside forces.
Within the UFC ranks, Francis Ngannou was quickly reminding people he was still a force to be reckoned with at heavyweight. The Cameroonian picked up devastating finishes in early 2019, stopping former champions Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos. Ngannou was building a convincing case to skip Miocic and get the next title shot.
Also, a giant presence who had the fewest rights to demand a title fight with Cormier perhaps had the best odds of getting it. WWE superstar and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar had shown interest in returning to MMA and Cormier was more than happy to give him a welcome.
The potential return of Lesnar looked to be a lucrative option for the UFC and all the parties involved. There seemed to be growing fan interest surrounding the matchup.
The odds looked slim for a Cormier-Miocic rematch.
Many said Miocic was not going to be next in line and advised him to take a non-title bout to work his way back to title contention. Yet, Miocic remained firm on his rematch aspirations and his patience ended up paying off.
Lesnar, who might’ve been the biggest factor in the title picture at the time, never came close to a return to MMA and opted out from resuming his UFC career, staying with the WWE. Ngannou was snubbed and had a bit of a layoff himself. He later was given Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC on ESPN 8 this March.
A little more than a year after losing his belt to Cormier, Miocic was given the chance to right the wrong in the UFC 241 main event this past August. It was one of the greatest heavyweight championship bouts in recent memory.
Miocic took on who many considered to be a pound-for-pound great at the time and withstood hell for almost a good 15 minutes. Cormier had one of his best performances that night, battering and landing clean, hard shots on Miocic. It was impressive to see. However, Cormier’s success only lasted for three rounds.
In the fourth round, Miocic began to up his offense, especially to the body. Cormier began to slow down and looked to be hindered by Miocic’s body work. There was a clear turn of the tide. The Ohio firefighter turned up the pressure on Cormier and eventually stunned him with a big straight right. Miocic followed up with a more punches to put Cormier away.
Miocic only fought once in 2019, and it was enough to set him once again as a UFC champion. It’s clear he’s one of the best fighters to ever compete at his weight and he strengthened his claim of being the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time.
There have been 16 heavyweight champions in UFC history and only four of them were able to win back their titles after losing them. Miocic is part of that short list.
From a fairly unlikely title shot candidate to heavyweight champion, Miocic is MMA Junkie’s 2019 “Comeback Fighter of the Year.”
Honorable Mentions
Jorge Masvidal
Miami’s Jorge Masvidal gave Miocic a run for his money for MMA Junkie’s 2019 “Comeback Fighter of the Year” award. Masvidal went 3-0 in 2019 after not fighting in 2018 and going 1-2 in 2017. In the process of his comeback, Masvidal picked up the fastest knockout in UFC history, fought in the biggest fight of the year, and turned himself into a star and a top welterweight contender all at once.
Masvidal has a solid case for the award, but at the end of the day Miocic closed the year as an undisputed champion.
Chan Sung Jung
“The Korean Zombie” went 2-0 in 2019, coming back from a vicious knockout loss to Yair Rodriguez and establishing himself as top contender in the UFC’s featherweight division.
Dan Hooker
The last picture of Dan Hooker in 2018 wasn’t pretty.
Hooker’s final UFC bout prior to 2019 was a TKO loss to Edson Barboza. It was a fight many wished would’ve been stopped sooner, since Hooker took an historic beating at UFC on FOX 31.
Hooker rebounded in 2019 with two impressive wins. He stopped James Vick in July and outpointed Al Iaquinta in October. Once again, he’s becoming a top threat at 155 pounds.
Douglas Lima
Douglas Lima didn’t enter 2019 on a losing skid, but he didn’t enter hot, either. The Bellator staple went 1-1 in 2018 – a stretch that saw him lose the welterweight title to Rory MacDonald and then win the opening round of Bellator’s welterweight grand prix. In 2019, Lima went 2-0. He scored one of the most memorable knockouts of the year, handing Michael Page his first professional loss, and gained his title back from MacDonald to win the Bellator welterweight grand prix. Welcome back, champ.
Also see:
- MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Fight of the Year’: Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum
- MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Under-the-Radar Fighter of the Year’: Geoff Neal
- MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Coach of the Year’: Eugene Bareman of City Kickboxing
- MMA Junkie’s ‘Knockout of the Year’ for 2019: Jorge Masvidal’s flying knee
- MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Breakout Fighter of the Year’: Jorge Masvidal
- MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Robbery of the Year’: Polyana Viana’s vigilante justice
- MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Submission of the Year’: Bryce Mitchell’s twister
- MMA Junkie’s 2019 ‘Upset of the Year’: Tristan Connelly moves up, beats Michel Pereira on 5 days’ notice
MMA Junkie's 2019 'Comeback Fighter of the Year': Stipe Miocic reclaims UFC heavyweight title
