Name: Stipe Miocic
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
Record: Sherdog | MMA.tv
Let’s just say that Stipe Miocic was never supposed to get into MMA. His first love was baseball, where he starred at Cleveland State as a third baseman and had dreams to make it to the sport’s minor leagues. He also wrestled in college, where he was a teammate of UFC veteran Gerald Harris, but he never really saw himself getting into MMA.
But Northeast Ohio MMA pioneer Dan Bobish needed training partners for an upcoming fight, and Miocic just happened to be on the receiving end of a call from “The Bull.” From there, Miocic met Strong Style MMA head coach Marcus Marinelli, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Miocic quickly took to the sport, and when he started an amateur career, nobody made it out of the first round against him in five fights. Upon turning pro, he quickly racked up a 4-0 record in 2010, and he was invited to participate in a four-man heavyweight tournament to crown a champion for NAAFS. After a knockout of William Penn, he defeated Bobby Brents at Fight Nite in the Flats 7 to claim the title.
That’s when a call came from the UFC. Miocic took a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Joey Beltran, and he followed up with a highlight reel 43-second knockout over Phil De Fries. He also earned a TKO over Shane Del Rosario, but suffered his first career defeat to Stefan Struve in the main event at UFC on FUEL TV 5.
The sky is still the limit for the menacing heavyweight, as he continues to balance his increasing fame with his day job as a firefighter/EMT in Northeast Ohio.