By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Stipe Miocic out-maneuvered Daniel Cormier in five grueling rounds to retain his UFC heavyweight belt in the final match of their highly-anticipated trilogy on Sunday, (Philippine time).
Heading into the match with an aggressive gameplay, Cormier put on a high-octane first round after hounding Miocic from the start of the round up to the end.
During the last 10 seconds of the first round, Cormier hit Miocic in the head that caused a little wobbling from the champion but was saved by the bell.
In round 2 it was Miocic that took the initiative, landing heavy right hooks to Cormier’s chin.
The next three rounds were all Miocic who out-boxed and countered Cormier’s wrestling style pretty well, consistently keeping Cormier at an arm’s reach.
In the undercard fights, Marlon Vera stunned Sean O’Malley and scored a huge upset via first-round technical knockout and Jairzinho Rozenstruik defeated one of the legendary heavyweights in the UFC, Junior dos Santos.
