Issue 153

April 2017

Life in the Strong Style gym isn’t easy for the UFC heavyweight champion, reveals Stipe Miocic.

Now you have the title do you train even harder than before?

Oh yeah. We know what we got ourselves into. We got the title and we ain’t going to give this s**t up. There’s no way. Plus, my coach, Marcus Marinelli – we’re best friends – if I’m out for a couple of the days he’ll call me and he’s like, ‘Yeah, vacation’s over, I’ll see you tomorrow.’

We love what we do, he loves coaching me and I love fighting for him. I love that man. I wouldn’t be where I am without him.

How much of a focus is put on heavy sparring?

I love sparring. Some guys don’t, but I think sparring at 100% is getting ready for a fight. It’s the best conditioning you can do. There’s also days when I’m not feeling good or I’m beat-up and I’ll take the day off sparring and do something different. We go off my body.

I try to spar a lot. My coach and me, we just feed off each other.

How much protective gear do you use?

We go bare-knuckle, old-school. Actually, no (laughs). I wear full gear: shin pads, big gloves, headgear. I’m not looking to get cut. I very rarely get cut. You’ve got to be safe. I don’t want to be punch drunk.

Who are your main sparring partners?

My buddy John Hawk – a good, tough heavyweight. I’ve fought him for the last six years. He’s just tough as s**t. He just takes a beating and keeps on ticking. Then we have a young kid named Aleksa (Camur). He’s an amateur who’s an absolute animal. He’s a 205lb’er and he’s a freak of nature.

I hate sparring with him. He makes me feel like an old man sometimes. You’ll be hearing his name soon. He’s Serbian too, which is funny because I’m Croatian, so we spar and I’m like, ‘You’re trying to kill me aren’t you?’

Do you bring anyone in from outside the gym?

Gian Villante too and I’ve got another guy I bring in from Oklahoma, Demoreo Dennis, a kickboxer who’s fought in Glory.

We have a good crew. I don’t like training with UFC heavyweights because that’s a little weird. What happens when I fight them?

Was it ever hard to find heavyweight sparring partners?

At first, it was terrible, like a needle in a haystack. I remember I was training with 185lb’ers for my first two UFC fights, just because I couldn’t find any good heavyweights. They were too small.

Do you have any grappling skills we’re yet to see in a fight?

I really work on my jiu-jitsu. I know I don’t use it a lot but I use it for my positioning.

I bring real good guys in to train with me and I do well with them. I like positioning and punching them in the face over submissions. You’re always putting yourself in a bad position. Say you’re sweating and going for something and you slip. Now you’re on your back and they’re on top of you. I love fighting off my back too.

What was it like to train with Mirko Cro Cop?

That was awesome. I had the time of my life. I went (to Croatia) for two weeks and it was what I needed. We had some wars and some fun times.

Going with that guy every day just builds your confidence up. He made me feel good about myself. We’re laughing, joking all the time and – I’m not too happy about this – he beat my ass at ping pong. He’s such a freak at that game.

What was the best shot he hit you with?

Oh, I got the head kick. It put me on my butt for a split second. It was funny. I was like, ‘Damn that was quick.’ He’s just so fast and strong. We were just going at it. It was awesome sparring. He wasn’t backing down, I wasn’t backing down.

Is there any part of training you hate?

Everything. I hate training. It sounds terrible because I love getting better but, it sucks. Some days I’m so tired I just want to go to bed. Thank god I don’t cut weight and I can eat a huge breakfast.

DRAIN GAME

In college, Miocic once had cut 37lb to make his 197lb wrestling weight.