I get knocked down. But I get up again: heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic survives knockdown to beat Alistair Overeem at UFC 203
The Cleveland-native delighted the home crowd by winning after 4:27 of the first round at Quicken Loans Arena
Dropped by an early punch, heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic recovered and knocked out Alistair Overeem at 4:27 of the first round to conclude UFC 203 on Saturday night in front of more than 20,000 delirious fans in Cleveland.
Miocic, whose title win in May set off a run of championships in a city that didn’t celebrate one for 52 years, was in big trouble after Overeem caught him on the jaw with a short left.
Overeem pounced on Miocic, a Cleveland fire fighter, and put him in a guillotine hold as he tried to choke him out.
But Miocic, urged by the crowd chanting “Stee-pay, Stee-pay,” escaped the hold and quickly pressed the action.
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In the final minute of the round, Miocic stunned Overeem with a punch and then held him down and delivered four devastating right-handed punches to the challenger’s head to finish him off.
“He hit harder than I thought, he knocked me down but I wasn’t hurt,” Miocic said.