With the UFC 195 officially in the books, a certain heavyweight named Stipe Miocic has now officially earned his stake in the heavyweight title picture. Let’s take a look at the crucial heavyweight bout that might determine the next contender in line for the UFC Heavyweight Championship – or will it? The UFC heavyweight title will be contended for at UFC 196 when reigning champion Fabricio Werdum defends his newly earned belt from the man he took it from, former champion Cain Velasquez.
To catch my thoughts on the main event, and whether or not Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit should be booked for an immediate rematch, please click here.
Stipe Miocic wants his title shot
First thing’s first, Stipe Miocic wants his damn title shot and he wants it now. After starching resurging heavyweight contender Andrei Arlovski (a former UFC heavyweight champion as well mind you), the Ohio-native screamed through the cage at UFC president Dana White, and demanded his title shot. Miocic put Arlovski away with relative ease as he clocked him with a short right hook, and then followed it up with 3-2 combination to put Arlovski down. The stoppage came a tad early in my opinion (we’ve seen Arlovski bounce back from bigger shots), but Arlovski didn’t protest the stoppage as it most likely saved him from further punishment. Now Miocic is on a two-fight win streak with wins over Arlovski and Mark Hunt, but is he worthy of a title shot? Other contenders loom in the distance who have just as much (if not more) momentum behind them.
The first competing contender is Ben Rothwell (who takes on Josh Barnett on January 30th at UFC on FOX 18). “Big Ben” is on a three-fight win streak with stoppages over Matt Mitrione, Alistair Overeem, and Brandon Vera. Meanwhile, Rothwell’s opponent, Josh Barnett, has a single unanimous decision win over Roy Nelson following a dorment 2014, and a KO loss to Travis Browne in 2013. Many want to see Ben Rothwell get a title shot if he wins as he has lived up to being the true “dark horse” of the heavyweight division. I don’t believe the same can be said of Josh Barnett though. Even if “The Warmaster” defeats Rothwell, I don’t think it’s enough to warrant him the title shot against the either the likes of Fabricio Werdum or Cain Velasquez.
And then we have Alistair Overeem. He picked up a sensational knockout win against Junior dos Santos (who last defeated Stipe Miocic) at UFC on FOX: dos Anjos vs. Cerrone to tag onto his three-fight win streak. Overeem rebounded from his 2014 loss to Ben Rothwell with victories against Stefan Struve (who also holds a win over Miocic), Roy Nelson, and now Junior dos Santos. Despite having a recent loss to Ben Rothwell, Overeem has been actively increasing his value in this race to the heavyweight strap. To make things more interesting, Overeem already has a decision win against current champion Fabricio Werdum; Overeem shut Werdum down back in June of 2011 while competing in Strikeforce.
In Summary
I believe the answer to who the next in line is will rely on who wins between Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez. If Velasquez defeats Werdum, he will make it 1-1, and a rubber match will almost surely take place. Doing so will delay the demand for a contender, so we can pit Stipe Miocic against either Alistair Overeem, or Ben Rothwell (if he beats Barnett) in the mean time. However, what if Werdum defeats Velasquez again, and needs to face a new contender? This is where things get interesting.
It’s almost impossible trying to determine who deserves the title shot more between Alistair Overeem, Stipe Miocic, and Ben Rothwell. Overeem has victories over two guys who have defeated Miocic (Stefan Struve and Junios dos Santos), but Rothwell has a KO victory against Overeem while Miocic has wins over guys that Rothwell has lost to (Gabriel Gonzaga and Mark Hunt). To make matters worse, all three of these guys are on good win streaks. Overeem has Junior dos Santos, Roy Nelson, and Stefan Struve. Miocic has Andrei Arlovski, and Mark Hunt. Rothwell would have Josh Barnett, Matt Mitrione, Alistair Overeem, and Brandon Vera. Here is my futile attempt to break down what I believe should happen given the many variables that taking place:
If Werdum beats Velasquez and Rothwell beats Barnett: Werdum vs. Rothwell, and Miocic vs. Overeem
If Werdum beats Velasquez and Barnett beats Rothwell: Werdum vs. Miocic, and Overeem vs. Barnett
If Velasquez beats Werdum and Rothwell beats Barnett: Werdum vs. Velasquez III, Rothwell vs. Miocic, and Overeem vs. Arlovski
If Velasquez beats Werdum and Barnett beats Rothwell: Werdum vs. Velasquez III, Miocic vs. Overeem, and Barnett vs. Arlovski
