Stipe Miocic doesn’t plan on dropping his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight gold anytime soon.
The reigning 265-pound kingpin slayed Fabricio Werdum’s run with the championship back in May 2016. He then successfully defended his championship in his home of Cleveland, Ohio in a first-round knockout over Alistair Overeem.
Miocic’s next title defense will be on May 13 against Junior dos Santos. The two are expected to headline UFC 211 inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. This’ll be Miocic’s chance at revenge, as “Cigano” was the last man to defeat him.
FOX Sports recently caught up with the champion. Miocic has heard ramblings about upcoming heavyweights such as Francis Ngannou and how the UFC has been pushing them as breakthrough stars. The heavyweight ruler doesn’t sound too concerned:
“Listen, I understand it’s promotion but no one ever gave me a chance. No one ever thought I’d be the champ and look where I’m at now. I’ll keep shutting people up and that’s what I love doing. I love it. I strive off it. I get high off of it. I want you to tell me how bad I suck and how I’m going to get knocked out and how I’ve been lucky my whole career. That’s fine. All day. I’ll take it and I’ll keep shutting you up and pissing you off and then onto the next.”
In a division where many fighters pack a ton of power in their strikes, Miocic finds himself at the top of the mountain. He explained why he thinks he rules the roost.
“I’m hungrier than all of them. They didn’t put in the effort that I did to get the title. So I don’t care what it takes, I’m not giving up that title. I worked too hard to get it and I’m not going to lose it.”
