Northest Ohio based heavyweight Stipe Miocic (13-2, 7-2 UFC) is next in line for a UFC heavyweight title shot, according to a Tweet from Bleacher Report lead MMA writer Jeremy Botter.
Miocic, who trains with the Strong Style Fight Team in the Cleveland area, is set to take on new UFC champion Fabricio Werdum (20-5-1, 8-2 UFC) in what will be the first title defense for “Vai Cavalo.”
No venue or date was reported for the fight, but it would seem to make sense either at UFC 191 on September 5 in Las Vegas or UFC 192 on October 3 in Houston.
Miocic comes into the bout off of a brutal knockout of veteran heavyweight Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 65 in May. The 32-year-old has won four of his last five UFC fights, with the only loss coming via a highly disputed decision against former champion Junior Dos Santos at UFC on FOX 13 last December. Miocic is currently ranked No. 3 in the UFC’s heavyweight rankings behind champion Werdum, and former champions Cain Velasquez and Dos Santos.
Werdum completed a shocking comeback, going from being cut from the UFC roster to being its champion. The 37-year-old has recently been mentioned as perhaps the best heavyweight in the history of MMA, as he now has wins over all-time greats Velasquez, Fedor Emelianenko, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. He is 6-0 since returning to the UFC two years ago after Zuffa’s purchase of Strikeforce.
Stay tuned to BluegrassMMA.com for more on this bout as it becomes available.