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Stipe has seemed to level up after both of his previous losses. In fact I think of his career sliced into segments bounded by those Ls.
Miocic 1.0
The callow young(ish) man that had not yet known defeat. Obviously with some skills and blessedly unlike the usual shapeless lump that passes for heavyweight, but not very focused. There were plenty of WTF moments: being dragged into a brawl in the Beltran fight, starting out derpily against De Fries, allowing del Rosario to kick him up one side and down the other before he thinks maybe he should take him down. But what the hell, he's winning so the hype starts to be cranked up....
Then he fights Struve and gets a loss that pumps the brakes on that real hard, so hard that a lot of people still can't see past it after all these years.,,
Miocic 2.0
And Miocic realizes this fighting thing ain't going to be as easy as it has been for him till now. Out for 9 months, the longest break in his pro career before this last one, he says he "went back to the drawing board." And the difference in him when he fights next is eye-opening. The guy people thought would merely be the next KO to build up Nelson's argument for a title shot is suddenly putting on a boxing clinic, and Rogan screams about "the new, improved" Stipe. A fight with Gonzaga isn't as splashy but at least he's dominant and controlled. Then he melts poor Fabio's face off. Of course Fabio was a poor substitute for the guy he was supposed to fight, JDS. JDS even post the Cain thrashings is still a killer.
As he proves by beating Miocic when the match gets rescheduled. But he doesn't beat him nearly as handily as most people thought he would...
Miocic 3.0
...Which Miocic takes as proof that he is indeed an elite fighter. The new influx of confidence shows. The next time he's going out, as a coach termed it, seeking to destroy. Mark Hunt is too durable for his own damned good and enables Stipe to set a record for most punches landed in a UFC fight. 4 first round knockouts follow, as does a belt. He even stops the guy thought of as the utterly unstoppable force, beating him so embarrassingly it paralyzes Francis for his next fight. Stipe breaks another record, this time for most consecutive defenses in Heavyweight, and people are talking of him as the greatest UFC HW...
Until DC says "hold my Popeye's."
So what are we going to see in
Miocic 4.0?
It's hard to imagine that at almost 37, so late into a career, Stipe could improve significantly. And yet...he's had more than a year. I know, a lot of people see that and say "ring rust" but I wouldn't count on that. He's the type to always train and they don't spar lightly at Strong Style. Stray comments have trickled in from teammates and coaches: sharper, "way" stronger, paradoxically leaner yet bigger. Certainly he shocked us all on the scales yesterday.
We'll find out soon enough...
Miocic 1.0
The callow young(ish) man that had not yet known defeat. Obviously with some skills and blessedly unlike the usual shapeless lump that passes for heavyweight, but not very focused. There were plenty of WTF moments: being dragged into a brawl in the Beltran fight, starting out derpily against De Fries, allowing del Rosario to kick him up one side and down the other before he thinks maybe he should take him down. But what the hell, he's winning so the hype starts to be cranked up....
Then he fights Struve and gets a loss that pumps the brakes on that real hard, so hard that a lot of people still can't see past it after all these years.,,
Miocic 2.0
And Miocic realizes this fighting thing ain't going to be as easy as it has been for him till now. Out for 9 months, the longest break in his pro career before this last one, he says he "went back to the drawing board." And the difference in him when he fights next is eye-opening. The guy people thought would merely be the next KO to build up Nelson's argument for a title shot is suddenly putting on a boxing clinic, and Rogan screams about "the new, improved" Stipe. A fight with Gonzaga isn't as splashy but at least he's dominant and controlled. Then he melts poor Fabio's face off. Of course Fabio was a poor substitute for the guy he was supposed to fight, JDS. JDS even post the Cain thrashings is still a killer.
As he proves by beating Miocic when the match gets rescheduled. But he doesn't beat him nearly as handily as most people thought he would...
Miocic 3.0
...Which Miocic takes as proof that he is indeed an elite fighter. The new influx of confidence shows. The next time he's going out, as a coach termed it, seeking to destroy. Mark Hunt is too durable for his own damned good and enables Stipe to set a record for most punches landed in a UFC fight. 4 first round knockouts follow, as does a belt. He even stops the guy thought of as the utterly unstoppable force, beating him so embarrassingly it paralyzes Francis for his next fight. Stipe breaks another record, this time for most consecutive defenses in Heavyweight, and people are talking of him as the greatest UFC HW...
Until DC says "hold my Popeye's."
So what are we going to see in
Miocic 4.0?
It's hard to imagine that at almost 37, so late into a career, Stipe could improve significantly. And yet...he's had more than a year. I know, a lot of people see that and say "ring rust" but I wouldn't count on that. He's the type to always train and they don't spar lightly at Strong Style. Stray comments have trickled in from teammates and coaches: sharper, "way" stronger, paradoxically leaner yet bigger. Certainly he shocked us all on the scales yesterday.
We'll find out soon enough...
