The heavyweight division in the UFC is the pinnacle of the mixed martial arts sport. The biggest and baddest compete with devastating power that is unseen in the lower weight classes. The competition is so fierce that no title holder has been able to successfully defend the title more than twice before relinquishing it.

That was until now as Stipe Miocic put on a masterful performance over Francis Ngannou to win his 6th straight fight and 3rd straight title defense. The win puts Miocic in the record books and should quiet any notion that he isn't the baddest man on the planet.

An underdog champion

Throughout his title reign, Stipe Miocic has heard the grumblings within the UFC world. He wasn't the best. He had some easy fights. His comeuppance was sure to come. He entered UFC 220 as the underdog to Ngannou.

It's hard to think anyone would say those things with a straight face though. Miocic's title defenses already included Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem, arguably two of best heavyweights in the game today. Adding Ngannou to this already impressive list is all Miocic needs to claim he is indeed the best heavyweight ever.

However, things leading up to the fight with Ngannou were odd. As Miocic put it, the whole build up leading to the fight looked like it was being billed as a coming out party for Ngannou.

The scariest puncher since Mike Tyson was supposed to knock out the champ and then begin his own reign of dominance in a division that is near impossible to dominate for long.

Miocic was vocal after the fight about the disrespect he felt at being a champion who was also being billed as the underdog. He felt UFC boss Dana White wanted him to lose because he isn't as big of a pay-per-view draw as Ngannou would be had he won the fight.

Dana White obviously played down those rumors as he claimed that his goal is promote compelling fights. Who wins those fights is not his concern.

Better late than never

It may have taken a while for people to really see how good Miocic really is, but it is going to be hard for anyone to ignore it now. The performance he put on at UFC 220 was nothing short of masterful.

His game-plan was well prepared and he executed it with precision.

Just look at the statistics after facing off with the UFC's most feared contender.

The champ played to his strengths as he picked his spots and took the fight to the ground whenever he could. It was obvious as the fight went on that fatigue was going to be an issue. Having never been in a full title fight, Ngannou was noticeably tired and could barely raise his fist to tap gloves by the final round.

The judges' scores reflected that as Miocic won unanimously 50-44. In fighting numbers, that is like a football team winning 56-0.
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