A piece of history and a measure of revenge both came swiftly for Stipe Miocic.
Miocic beat Junior Dos Santos with a technical knockout at 2 minutes 22 seconds in the first round to defend his heavyweight title at UFC 211 on Saturday night.
In the co-main event, Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland scored a unanimous, five-round decision over third-ranked Jessica Andrade to defend her women’s strawweight championship.
Photo: AP
Since the heavyweight division was formed in 1997, only Miocic, Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia, Cain Velasquez and Brock Lesnar have won two title defenses. Miocic avenged a loss to Dos Santos in December 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona, which was a five-round bout that left both fighters bloodied.
Miocic (17-2) stunned Dos Santos midway through the round with a series of punches ending with a hard right to Dos Santos’ left cheek as the challenger was backing away. That pushed him into the cage before he fell to the mat.
Miocic then straddled Dos Santos and fired away with a series of lefts that ended the fight.
Photo: AFP
“`We’ve been working on that for 10 weeks,” Miocic said of the critical punch. “My coaches are the best in the world. If it wasn’t for my coaches, we wouldn’t be here right now.”
The fourth-ranked Dos Santos (18-5), who had hurt Miocic with multiple kicks, called the loss “terrible.”
“I know he likes to walk forward and I like to walk backwards,” he said. “The last kick I threw, he felt a lot and I felt I did well.”
Saturday’s victory was Miocic’s fifth straight since the loss to Dos Santos.
As for who is next, he said, “Right now, it’s my kitchen. The kitchen when I get home. That’s all I’m worried about.”
The 34-year-old claimed his crown with a first-round knockout of Fabricio Werdum in May last year in Brazil.
He defended against Alistair Overeem in September last year “at home” in Cleveland, Ohio, with a first-round knockout.
Will Miocic become the first UFC heavyweight to defend his title three times.
“He’s looking like the man,” UFC president Dana White said. “Cleveland’s killing it right now.”
Dos Santos is 3-4 since his championship loss in a rematch with Velasquez in December 2012.
The Brazilian returned to the octagon on Saturday following a 13-month absence that began with surgery on his right shoulder.
Jedrzejczyk (14-0) has defended her title five times since defeating Carla Esparza in March 2015 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
That ties Ronda Rousey for the most title victories among UFC women.
“I didn’t even know,” Jedrzejczyk said. “This is amazing. I respect Ronda so much as a fighter, but more as a human. It’s a pleasure for me to stand next to Ronda in this category.”
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
RSS