Sports in Cleveland have been on the wrong side of some of the biggest stories in history.
Stipe Miocic hopes this weekend that he can travel to Brazil, claim the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 198 and bring it back to his current home to celebrate.
Miocic takes on Fabricio Werdum for the belt on pay-per-view this Saturday night.
“It’d mean everything,” said Miocic, of winning the belt, during an interview on UFC Tonight. “We need it. We’ve been so close, but we’ve never gotten it.”
Miocic was born in Euclid, Ohio to Croatian immigrants and competed at Cleveland State University as a Div. I wrestler before embarking on his current career in MMA. He has picked up back-to-back finishes of Mark Hunt and former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski to warrant his shot at Werdum.
“Everyone has holes,” Miocic said of the champion. “I’m not going to say anything now, maybe he’s watching. We watched a lot of tape and saw a lot of holes.
“I’m going to do what I want to do. If he wants to go to the ground, that’s fine. I’m a wrestler. I’m going to be smart. Wherever it goes, it goes, but I’m going to dictate where I want it to go.”
Currently, Miocic is still a firefighter in his hometown. That’s not something he’ll give up if he is successful vs. Werdum.
“When I do become the champion, I’ll still be a firefighter.”
