Stipe Miocic

Stipe Miocic (Croatian: Stipe Miočić; born August 19, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of January 19, 2016, he is #2 in official UFC heavyweight rankings.

Background

Miocic was born to Croatian immigrants. By September 2012, they had separated, and his father had returned to Croatia. Miocic played baseball and football, and wrestled while at Eastlake North High School. Miocic played baseball his senior year at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee. Miocic helped lead the team to the TranSouth Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championship, hitting .344 with 14 doubles, 4 triples, 7 home runs and 43 RBI. Miocic earned the TranSouth Player of the Week award. Miocic also received interest from Major League Baseball teams during his collegiate years at Cleveland State University.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

As a former Golden Gloves Champion and NCAA Division I wrestler, he debuted in MMA winning his first five fights by knockout. He then fought for the NAAFS Heavyweight Championship where he defeated Bobby Brents by submission after delivering numerous strong leg kicks.