Stipe Miocic was fully aware that he didn’t have the liberty of time and one more loss could have doused water on any plans he had as far as vying for the UFC heavyweight title.
Miocic saved himself the trouble, finishing off Andrei Arlovski in the first round of their match at UFC 195. Could that be enough to place him along the ranks of fighters who will face the winner between champion Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez at UFC 196 on Feb. 6?
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That remains to be seen, though Miocic did make it clear that he wanted a title shot. In fact, he shouted toward the direction of UFC president Dana White and repeated it yet again when he was handed the microphone by Joe Rogan as reported by Bleacher Report.
So was his message delivered loud and clear? Perhaps but he has to consider other names in the equation.
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Aside from Miocic, also under consideration are the likes of Ben Rothwell and Alistair Overeem.
But it seems that White has already mapped out plans as we speak.
According to MMAfighting.com, Miocic's rants landed loud and clear and eventually led to him being named as the No. 1 contender for the UFC heavyweight title.
"Who the hell was going to say no to him?" said White. "He was like a psycho. I wasn't going to say no. ‘Are we on the same page now?!' "Yes. We are on the same page, Stipe."
So with that settled, expect him to be among the keen watchers of that Werdum vs. Velasquez match next month. As far as he is concerned, it doesn’t really matter who he faces since he believes he has a more than able cast who can prepare him for a possible UFC heavyweight title reign.
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