In December 2014, Junior dos Santos met Stipe Miocic in the UFC octagon for the first time. That night, the Brazilian former heavyweight champ took home a decision victory. The night belonged to dos Santos, but their careers diverged from there. “Cigano” would fight just twice more following that night, once in both 2015 and 2016, alternating wins and losses. Miocic, meanwhile, would win his next two fights, earning a shot at then-champ Fabricio Werdum.
Miocic (16–2), an Ohio native, made the most of his opportunity, upsetting Werdum in his native Brazil at UFC 198. He then returned to wow his hometown crowd by defending the belt in Cleveland last September against Alistair Overeem at UFC 203.
With Miocic as champ, and an injury to Stefan Struve bumping dos Santos (18–4) out of the main event of February’s UFC Halifax, a collision course was set for these two heavy-handed heavyweights to meet again. Saturday night at UFC 211, that collision finally went down.
In the first round, Miocic had dos Santos against the fence, but the Brazilian challenger managed to land a couple of strong kicks that seemed to slow Miocic a step. However, in the moments to come, the champ would manage to connect with a few shots then later land a solid right hand with “Cigano” against the cage. As dos Santos went down, Miocic swarmed and finished with a barrage of punches from the top. It didn’t take long, and Miocic retains!
Full Results
Main Card
Stipe Miocic (c) def. Junior dos Santos by TKO (punches) Round 1, 2:22
Joanna Jędrzejczyk (c) def. Jéssica Andrade by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-44)
Demian Maia def. Jorge Masvidal by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Frankie Edgar def. Yair Rodríguez by TKO (doctor stoppage) Round 2, 5:00
David Branch def. Krzysztof Jotko by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier ends in a No Contest (illegal knees), Round 2, 4:12
Jason Knight def. Chas Skelly by TKO (punches), Round 3, 0:39
Chase Sherman def. Rashad Coulter by KO (elbow), Round 2, 3:36
James Vick def. Marco Polo Reyes by TKO (punches) Round 1, 2:39
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Cortney Casey def. Jessica Aguilar by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Enrique Barzola def. Gabriel Benítez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Gadzhimurad Antigulov def. Joachim Christensen by Submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:21
