UFC’s Miocic stays ‘easy peasy’ despite travel issues en route to Las Vegas
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight contender Stipe Miocic hopes his path to a title shot is quite simple.
A victory over Andrei Arlovski tonight on the UFC 195 card at the MGM Grand Garden very well could result in the opportunity to fight for the belt.
It turns out getting to Las Vegas proved to be a more complex journey for Miocic this week.
The Cleveland native fell victim to the rash of canceled flights across the Midwest as winter storms wreaked havoc on travel.
He was scheduled to leave Cleveland at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, but that flight was canceled. The other flights coming to Las Vegas the rest of the day were completely full because of the other stranded travelers from the previous days.
Miocic tried to book a flight for Wednesday morning, which became Wednesday evening. His 6:15 p.m. flight out of Cleveland was delayed, which would have caused him to miss his connection in Atlanta.
He got a flight from Canton, Ohio, an hour away, and finally arrived in Las Vegas about 1 a.m. on Thursday.
“The UFC (travel coordinator) was amazing,” Miocic said. “She dealt with all that stuff for me.”
Many fighters, notoriously obsessive about fight-week routine, would freak out about the chaos.
That’s not Miocic’s nature.
“Honestly, I’m easy peasy,” he said. “Just relaxing. I got to train an extra day at home and take care of a few things that I needed to take care of to make my mind feel at ease. We got here, and that’s all that matters. I don’t have to cut weight, which helps a lot. But I actually think even if I was cutting, it wouldn’t matter.”
It’s impossible to shake Miocic, who despite being one of the world’s top heavyweights continues to maintain a day job that is more stressful than professional fighting.
Miocic works part time as a firefighter for two Cleveland-area departments and has no intention of quitting the job anytime soon.
“I love what I do, and I love being a fireman. I love helping people,” he said. “I get the benefit of choosing my schedule a month in advance. I have two great chiefs that are pretty lenient with me if I need to call off or trade a shift; they’re pretty good with this. So I actually train full time no matter what. So, yes, I love what I do.”
He scoffs at the notion that he’s anything less than a full-time fighter. The results inside the cage certainly support that.
The former wrestler and college baseball player began his mixed martial arts career 9-0, including victories in his first three UFC fights. After suffering the first loss of his career to Stefan Struve in 2012, he has rebounded by winning four of his past five fights.
The loss was a close decision to former champion Junior dos Santos in 2014.
Miocic enters this fight off a knockout of Mark Hunt in May
Arlovski, Hunt and dos Santos were some of the fighters Miocic remembers watching when he competed as an amateur boxer before making his professional MMA debut in 2010. Arlovski held the UFC heavyweight belt in 2005 and 2006.
“Watching (Arlovski) back then, it was like, ‘Man, this guy’s an animal. I hope I get to that level,'” Miocic said. “Now here I am fighting him. It’s so funny when I fight these guys that I saw on TV before I was ever a professional. Oh, that’s Roy Nelson, that’s Mark Hunt, that’s Junior dos Santos.
“It’s interesting.”
A win over Arlovski might be the only thing standing between Miocic and a shot at the belt, which Fabricio Werdum will defend against former champ Cain Velasquez next month in Las Vegas.
But Miocic knows getting that opportunity is far from guaranteed, even with an impressive victory.
“All I care about is winning, which is what I’m going to do,” Miocic said. “After that, it’s beyond my control. There’s nothing I can do. I wish I could, but I can’t. I just have to keep fighting and winning. It’s so funny because some guys are ranked No. 7 and get title shots. It is what it is. It sucks sometimes, but that’s what you’ve got. I just have to keep doing what I do, and that’s all that matters.”
He’ll have another chance to build his resume tonight, now that he has made it to Las Vegas.
There was one fortunate occurrence on his circuitous journey to the desert.
Miocic got upgraded to first class when he finally did get on a plane.
“I was just living the life,” he said with a broad smile. “Now when I get home, I’m back to peasant status.”
Once he gets the belt, that might change.
The heavyweight bout is part of a pay-per-view event, headlined by a welterweight title fight between champion Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit, which begins at 7 p.m.
Four fights from the preliminary card will air at 5 p.m. on Fox Sports 1. The first three bouts on the card will stream exclusively on the UFC’s online platform Fight Pass at 3:30.
— Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamilllvrj.
