Stipe Miocic rallies back to finish Alistair Overeem at UFC 203

MANILA, Philippines – Stipe Miocic had a triumphant homecoming as he successfully defended the world heavyweight title against Alistair Overeem in the main event of UFC 203 on Saturday, September 10 (Sunday Manila time) at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

Having hometown advantage, the 34-year-old American-Croatian fighter finished Overeem at 4:27 of the first round with dreadful punches on the ground that turned the lights off on the renowned Dutch kickboxer.

Stipe Miocic rallies back and finishes Alistair Overeem to retain the UFC heavyweight title. #UFC203 pic.twitter.com/X8Xf7sFynf

— NISSI ICASIANO (@Nissi_Icasiano) September 11, 2016

However, Miocic’s first successful defense of his gold-plated strap was not a walk in the park as he had to survive Overeem’s early onslaught.

Overeem scored a flash knockdown by launching a crisp left hand to the chin and followed Miocic to the mat with a twisting guillotine choke.

As Miocic managed to shrug off the dangerous submission hold and rose back to his feet, Overeem staggered his surging opponent once again by teeing off another stinging left jab and connecting with a well-timed kick to the midsection.

Miocic was unfazed of Overeem’s ferocious attacks as he marched forward to tag his cage counterpart with his signature right straight.

Overeem was comfortably bombarding the champion with deadly strikes when Miocic caught a sidekick, giving him an opportunity to slump his Dutch foe to the canvas.

Overeem tried to roll out of danger, but Miocic maintained his leverage with a feisty scramble and placed himself in a sturdy top position with less than a minute left in the round.

Two thunderous right hands from Miocic rendered Overeem unconscious, compelling referee Marc Goddard to step in and halt the contest.

With the come-from-behind conquest of Overeem, Miocic improves his professional win-loss slate to 16-2 and is now riding high on a 4-fight winning streak.

On the other hand, Overeem (41-15, 1 NC) snaps his 4-fight victory parade with the painful setback to Miocic and suffers his tenth knockout loss in his 17-year prizefighting career. – Rappler.com