Thrilling clashes on cards at UFC

Chennai: The frenzy created by a memorable boxing bout between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko hasn’t died down yet, but the sporting fraternity is bracing up for another heavyweight showdown. The title of ‘baddest man on the planet’ is up for grabs as Stipe Miocic defends his Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight crown at Dallas in a rematch with former champion Junior Dos Santos.

Miocic, a part-time fireman from Cleveland, will attempt to become only the fifth UFC heavyweight fighter to defend his crown twice. “Honestly, I don’t really care about the numbers. All I care about is winning. I love what I do. I want to keep winning. I have trained way too hard and sacrificed way too much to give it up and I’m just different, man. I’ve gotten better every fight. I’m not declining,” said Miocic.

When Miocic and Dos Santos locked horns inside the Octagon last time in 2014, it turned out to be a five-round brawl that left both fighters bloodied and bruised.

“I had a swollen eye. I had some stitches inside my mouth, but it’s part of the game. It sucked for about a week but I felt fine after that. I still had the stitches in my mouth but in a little over a week they got taken out. So it wasn’t too bad, but definitely a lot of bumps and bruises,” added Miocic.

Another interesting clash on the fight night features Poland’s Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Brazilian Jessica Andrade. Jedrzejczyk is considered the best female fighter in UFC.