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80-598: Couture has competed in a record 16 title fights. He is tied for the record for the most wins in UFC Heavyweight Championship bouts (6) with former UFC Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic . He had the most title reigns in the UFC, with six. His last fight with Lyoto Machida marked his 24th fight in the UFC. He is the fourth member of the UFC Hall of Fame . He is one of only 2 over the age of 40 to have won

160-622: A freak show fight , among them by UFC President Dana White himself. Many also felt that this fight had been made as an attempt to repair damage done to the credibility of MMA after Ray Mercer knocked out former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia . Couture had stated he was interested in fighting either Lyoto Machida or Maurício Rua (in a non-title bout). Since Rua had an upcoming title defense against Jon Jones , UFC matchmakers gave him Machida. They fought on April 30, 2011, at UFC 129 , before 55,000 fans in Toronto. Couture had stated before

240-571: A splint for six weeks. On October 11, 2007, Couture announced he was severing all ties with the UFC, leaving two contracted fights, a position as an on-air analyst and the UFC Heavyweight Championship behind. He received $ 250,000 (plus $ 936,000 of PPV revenue) for his comeback fight with Tim Sylvia . He received a $ 250,000 purse for defeating Gabriel Gonzaga (plus a $ 35,000 "Fight of the Night" bonus and $ 787,000 in PPV revenue). He complained Chuck Liddell

320-425: A Cormier eye poke . On June 9, 2020, it was announced that the trilogy bout between Miocic and Cormier was signed to take place at UFC 252 on August 15, 2020. Miocic won the fight via unanimous decision, this time with both fighters receiving eye pokes during the fight. Miocic faced Francis Ngannou in a rematch on March 27, 2021, at UFC 260 . He lost the title via knockout in the second round. Following

400-475: A TKO victory and his second UFC Heavyweight Championship. In March 2001, Couture continued in the RINGS King of Kings Tournament 2000 Final. After winning an even decision over veteran Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in the first fight, he got caught in a guillotine choke by Valentijn Overeem after committing himself in a takedown and had to submit. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira won the tournament, and Couture returned to

480-568: A UFC championship fight, having done so four times. He is one of the few MMA champions to regain a title he had lost, and the only to have done it three times (twice at heavyweight, once at light heavyweight). Couture was an Olympic wrestling alternate and has lived in Corvallis, Oregon throughout much of his career, where he served as an assistant wrestling coach and a strength and conditioning coach for Oregon State University . He established Team Quest with Matt Lindland and Dan Henderson ,

560-487: A background of being a Cleveland Golden Gloves boxing champion and NCAA Division I wrestler at Cleveland State, Miocic began his MMA career by winning his first six professional fights by knockout. He initially fought for NAAFS (an Ohio-based MMA promotion), where he won the NAAFS Heavyweight Championship. On June 14, 2011, it was announced that Miocic had signed a multi-fight deal with

640-632: A boy named Mateo Cruz, on August 28, 2021, as announced on Miocic's Instagram by Bruce Buffer . Miocic can understand Croatian , though he is not fluent and has been learning the language. On November 22, 2022, Miocic announced the death of his father. Knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O. ) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports , such as boxing , kickboxing , Muay Thai , mixed martial arts , karate , some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking , as well as fighting -based video games . A full knockout

720-422: A brief moment and wakes up again to continue to fight, the fight is stopped and a KO is declared. As many MMA fights can take place on the mat rather than standing, it is possible to score a KO via ground and pound, a common victory for grapplers . In fighting games such as Street Fighter and Tekken , a player scores a knockout by fully depleting the opponent's health bar , with the victor being awarded

800-463: A cameo appearance in the direct-to-video Steven Seagal film Today You Die and on the season finale of the CBS show The Unit , as a military guard. He played fight commentator Terry Flynn in the film Redbelt . He appeared on an episode of The History Channel show Human Weapon on September 27, 2007, and starred in the 2008 film The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior . He played Toll Road in

880-457: A collegiate wrestling record of 113-42. He graduated from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor's degree in literature. Being called to the tournament as an alternate on three weeks' notice, Couture made his professional mixed martial arts debut at UFC 13 on May 30, 1997, as part of a four-man heavyweight tournament. His first opponent was Tony Halme , who outweighed him by nearly 100 pounds (45 kg; 7.1 st). Couture immediately hit

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960-512: A double-leg takedown and, after some ground and pound, moved to back mount and secured a rear naked choke submission to win in under a minute. In the tournament final, he defeated Steven Graham, another larger opponent (290 lb), by TKO at 3:13 into the first round. On October 17, 1997, at UFC 15 , Couture fought Vitor Belfort to determine the number one contender for the UFC Heavyweight Championship . Couture

1040-405: A fight and largest strike margin, outlanding Hunt 361–48 over the duration of the bout. Miocic was expected to face Ben Rothwell on October 24, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 76 . Miocic pulled out on October 13 citing injury. Subsequently, Rothwell was removed from the card the following day after the promotion deemed that a suitable opponent could not be arranged on short notice. In turn, Miocic

1120-535: A firefighter despite being a UFC champion, he stated that he needs something to fall back to after his fighting career is over. He married Ryan Marie Carney on June 18, 2016, at the Divine Word Catholic Church in Kirtland, Ohio . On January 20, 2018, Miocic announced that the couple are expecting their first child. His daughter, Meelah, was born in 2018. They welcomed their second child,

1200-479: A guest during Sal Vulcano's punishment in the episode "Pantsing with the Stars". In that episode, Vulcano, who refused an instruction during a challenge where he was posing as a Krav Maga instructor, was given a surprise punishment by the other Jokers in that he then had to wrestle Couture and attempt to “pants” him. In 2019, Couture starred alongside Luke Goss and Michael Jai White in the movie The Hard Way , which

1280-489: A post-fight interview with Joe Rogan , Couture declared his desire to keep fighting and said he felt he was still becoming a better fighter, blaming the loss on his performance, not his age. On August 29, 2009, Couture faced former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion and former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 102 in Portland, Oregon, and lost by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 29–28). After

1360-542: A rear-naked choke submission in the second round, getting his first submission win in over four years. Couture was scheduled to fight Rich Franklin at UFC 115 , but Franklin instead fought Chuck Liddell, replacing Liddell's original opponent, Tito Ortiz . Couture instead faced three-time boxing world champion James Toney at UFC 118 . Couture dominated Toney, taking him down and mounting him within seconds, and quickly making him submit to an arm triangle choke . The match achieved notoriety, though it drew criticisms of being

1440-695: A regular broadcast commentator for UFC events and co-host of Before the Bell and After the Bell on The Fight Network . He appeared in the Rob Schneider movie Big Stan , with fellow mixed martial artists Don Frye and Bob Sapp . On November 17, 2006, Couture fought and drew with Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in a submission wrestling contest. After the match Couture invited Souza to train at his gym. Souza accepted and started training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Couture

1520-443: A somewhat controversial unanimous decision. The fight was his first at Light heavyweight since losing to Chuck Liddell in 2006. With the win, the 46-year-old Couture became the oldest fighter to win a UFC bout. Couture fought fellow UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman at UFC 109 . The bout marked the first time UFC Hall of Famers fought each other in the UFC. They were scheduled to meet at UFC 17 in 1998, but an injury to Couture forced

1600-548: A state championship during his senior year in wrestling. Afterwards he served in the U.S. Army from 1982 to 1988, attaining the rank of Sergeant in the 101st Airborne , where he "wrestled and did a little boxing." While he was in the Army he applied for tryouts with the U.S. Army freestyle wrestling team; however, due to a clerical error his application was sent to the Greco-Roman wrestling tryouts and rather than wait until

1680-441: A top contender. He faced Liddell for the third and final time in a championship match at UFC 57 , on February 4, 2006. He was knocked out in the second round and, immediately afterwards, announced his retirement from MMA. On June 24, 2006, on The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale, Couture became the fourth inductee to the UFC Hall of Fame , joining Royce Gracie , Dan Severn , and Ken Shamrock . After retiring from MMA, Couture became

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1760-529: A training camp for fighters, based out of Gresham, Oregon , and headed by coach Robert Folis. In 2005, he moved to Las Vegas, where he opened his own extensive chain of gyms under the name Xtreme Couture . He partnered with Bas Rutten to open Legends Gym in Hollywood , California . Couture is generally recognized as a clinch and ground-and-pound fighter who uses his wrestling ability to execute take downs , establish top position and successively strike

1840-555: A two-year hiatus, Miocic was scheduled to face Jon Jones for the UFC Heavyweight Championship on November 11, 2023, at UFC 295 . However on October 25, it was announced that the bout was scrapped after Jones sustained a pectoral muscle injury that required surgery which put him out of action for eight months. After a three-year hiatus since his last bout, Miocic faced current UFC Heavyweight Champion (also former two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion ) Jon Jones on November 16, 2024 at UFC 309 . He lost via technical knockout in

1920-403: A unanimous decision to become the undisputed UFC Light heavyweight Champion. Couture's first title defense was against Vitor Belfort , whom he had previously defeated in 1997 at UFC 15 . In the first round, as Couture closed the distance to attempt a clinch, Belfort grazed his right eye with a left hook. His glove opened a cut, and Belfort was declared the winner when the cageside doctor advised

2000-445: A week later on May 31, 2014, at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale . On May 5, 2014, dos Santos pulled out of the fight, citing a hand injury and was replaced by Fábio Maldonado . Miocic won the fight by TKO due to punches early in the first round and received a "Performance of the Night" bonus as well. A rescheduled bout with dos Santos eventually took place as the main event at UFC on Fox 13 on December 13, 2014. Miocic lost

2080-422: Is considered any legal strike or combination thereof that renders an opponent unable to continue fighting. The term is often associated with a sudden traumatic loss of consciousness caused by a physical blow. Single powerful blows to the head (particularly the jawline and temple) can produce a cerebral concussion or a carotid sinus reflex with syncope and cause a sudden, dramatic KO. Body blows, particularly

2160-785: The World Boxing Association (WBA), a TKO is declared when a fighter is knocked down three times in one round (called an "automatic knockout" in WBA rules). Furthermore, in amateur boxing, a boxer automatically wins by TKO if his opponent is knocked down four times in an entire match. In MMA bouts, the referee may declare a TKO if a fighter cannot intelligently defend themselves while being repeatedly struck. A double knockout (DKO ), both in real-life combat sports and in fighting -based video games , occurs when both fighters trade blows and knock each other out simultaneously and are both unable to continue fighting. In such cases,

2240-402: The liver punch , can cause progressive, debilitating pain that can also result in a KO. In boxing and kickboxing, a knockout is usually awarded when one participant falls to the canvas and is unable to rise to their feet within a specified period of time, typically because of exhaustion, pain, disorientation, or unconsciousness . For example, if a boxer is knocked down and is unable to continue

2320-626: The 197 lbs weight class for Cleveland State Vikings , Miocic competed in the 2003 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Kansas City . As a member of Jeff Forehand 's baseball team at Trevecca Nazarene, he hit .344 with seven home runs in his senior year and helped the Trojans win the 2005 TranSouth Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles. He graduated from Trevecca Nazarene University. He majored in marketing and communications at CSU. During his school days, in 2005, he

2400-506: The 2010 movie The Expendables and reprised the role in the 2012 , 2014 and 2023 sequels . He did several public service announcements , one against crystal meth . He starred alongside 50 Cent and Bruce Willis in the 2011 film, Setup , as an enforcer named Petey. In 2012, he played the leading role of hard-bitten cop Paul Ross in Brandon Nutt's action film Hijacked , alongside Dominic Purcell . On September 4, 2014, it

2480-551: The 7-minute mark, Belfort was exhausted. Couture again took him down, and finished him with punches from back mount, for one of the biggest upsets in MMA at the time. At UFC Japan on December 21, Couture challenged the UFC Heavyweight Champion , Maurice Smith to his second title defense since winning the belt from Mark Coleman earlier that year. It was a slow-paced fight, and neither fighter significantly damaged

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2560-495: The Spike TV magazine show, "Inside the UFC". In a conversation with Joe Rogan , he confirmed he would face Tim Sylvia for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 68 , on March 3, 2007. He also announced he had signed a four-fight, two-year deal with the UFC. At the age of 43, Couture defeated Sylvia by unanimous decision to become UFC Heavyweight Champion for a third time (a UFC record). Couture's first punch, eight seconds into

2640-471: The UFC Interim Light heavyweight Championship. He was again the underdog but, after outstriking Liddell for three rounds, took the fight to the ground and won by TKO via strikes from full mount, becoming the first UFC fighter to win titles in two weight classes. His next match, against five-time defending champion Tito Ortiz , was billed as a "Champion vs. Champion" fight. 40-year-old Couture won

2720-544: The UFC could not come to a co-promotion agreement with Russia 's M-1 Global beforehand. On January 15, 2008, Zuffa filed a lawsuit in Clark County District Court in Nevada, citing breach of contract and irreparable damage, seeking over $ 10,000 in damages. This suit only concerned Couture's employment contract and not his promotional contract. On February 28, 2008, Judge Jennifer Togliatti handed down

2800-598: The UFC's position of twelve days prior, and released documents refuting Couture's claims about the pay he received. They met again on Thanksgiving weekend to discuss a possible UFC return, but Couture said he had no desire to do so at the time. Cornering some of his fighters from Xtreme Couture at HDNet Fights on December 15 in Dallas, Couture answered questions about Fedor Emelianenko , stating that he would like to fight him in October, once his UFC contract expired, if

2880-476: The UFC. Miocic made his UFC debut against Joey Beltran on October 8, 2011, at UFC 136 and won the fight via unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, and 29–28). Miocic faced Phil De Fries on February 15, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger . Miocic won the fight via first-round KO, and in the process won a "Knockout of the Night" award. Miocic faced promotional newcomer Shane del Rosario on May 26, 2012, at UFC 146 . He won via TKO (elbows) in

2960-504: The UFC. His first title defense was against Brazilian kickboxer Pedro Rizzo , at UFC 31 . This was the first UFC event under Zuffa management, with Dana White as the new president. Both fighters inflicted substantial damage. After five 5-minute rounds, Couture won a close unanimous decision. Some fans felt Rizzo had won, so the UFC set up an immediate rematch for UFC 34 , in November 2001. This time, Couture won decisively by TKO in

3040-403: The back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision. The performance earned both participants "Fight of the Night" honors. Miocic faced Mark Hunt on May 10, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 65 . Miocic won the one-sided fight via TKO in the fifth round. At the time of the stoppage, Miocic was ahead on all three scorecards (40–36, 40–35, and 40–34). Miocic set a UFC record for the most strikes landed in

3120-478: The bout it would be his final fight. Machida knocked him out in the second round with a jumping front kick . After the fight, Couture announced he was "finally done fighting", at the age of 47. On January 29, 2013, Couture signed with Bellator to be a coach in the first season of their reality show, Fight Master: Bellator MMA which debuted in June 2013. Couture also did commentary for Bellator 96 . Couture made

3200-476: The bout, Couture stated he felt he was in the best shape of his life, and would wait and see what the UFC had in store for him. The fight received the "Fight of the Night" award. After the Nogueira loss, Couture signed a new six-fight deal, which superseded his previous contract. On November 14, 2009, at UFC 105 , Couture faced Brandon Vera . Vera landed effective strikes and scored a takedown, but Couture won

3280-401: The cancellation of the bout. They wrestled each other in a freestyle match at the 1989 Olympic Festival at Oklahoma State University ; Coleman won the match by one point. Couture modified his training for this bout, focusing on catch wrestling and refining his boxing under coach Gil Martinez. The combined age of these fighters (91) is the highest in any UFC match. Couture made Coleman pass out to

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3360-542: The day after this announcement, Werdum pulled out of the fight with a back injury. Miocic eventually faced Werdum at UFC 198 on May 14, 2016. He caught Werdum with a short right hook counter while backpedaling away from a flurry of punches in the first round, earning the championship and giving Werdum his first defeat since June 2011. He was also awarded a Performance of the Night bonus. On September 10, 2016, Miocic made his first title defense at UFC 203 against Alistair Overeem . Although he got knocked down early in

3440-480: The eye. A rematch between Miocic and Daniel Cormier took place on August 17, 2019, at UFC 241 for the UFC Heavyweight Championship . Miocic won the fight by TKO in the fourth round after landing several clean left hooks to the body and following it up with punches to the head, reclaiming the title. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. He was out until 2020 due to retinal damage from

3520-516: The face and the chin tucked in. This may still be ineffective if the opponent punches effectively to the solar plexus . A fighter who becomes unconscious from a strike with sufficient knockout power is referred to as having been knocked out or KO'd ( kay-ohd ). Losing balance without losing consciousness is referred to as being knocked down ("down but not out"). Repeated blows to the head, regardless of whether they cause loss of consciousness, may in severe cases cause strokes or paralysis in

3600-456: The fight be stopped. A rubber match took place later that year. Couture dominated all three rounds before winning by doctor stoppage due to a cut, and became a two-time UFC Light heavyweight Champion. On April 16, 2005, in a rematch with Liddell, Couture lost his title and suffered the first knockout loss of his career. He came back in August to defeat Mike van Arsdale and reestablish himself as

3680-477: The fight within a ten-second count, they are counted as having been knocked out and their opponent is awarded the KO victory. In mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions, no time count is given after a knockdown, as the sport allows submission grappling as well as ground and pound . If a fighter loses consciousness ("goes limp") as a result of legal strikes, it is declared a KO. Even if the fighter loses consciousness for

3760-411: The fight, he came back quickly and won via knockout in the first round. Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night honors. Miocic made his second title defense against Junior dos Santos on May 13, 2017, at UFC 211 in a rematch. Dos Santos previously beat Miocic by a close unanimous decision at UFC on Fox: dos Santos vs. Miocic in 2014. This time, Miocic started strong and took control of

3840-503: The fight, sent the 6 ft 8 in (2.03  m ) Sylvia to the mat. He controlled the pace of the fight for five rounds, smothering Sylvia with strikes and numerous takedowns. All three judges scored the bout 50–45 for Couture. At UFC 74 on August 25, 2007, Couture successfully defended the title against Brazilian Gabriel Gonzaga , defeating him via TKO by strikes. Couture suffered a broken left arm when he blocked one of Gonzaga's kicks. The kick cleanly split his ulna , requiring him to wear

3920-512: The final event of the tournament, in March 2001. Before that, he was offered a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship against Kevin Randleman on November 17, 2000. He was taken down in the first two rounds, but defended well from his back, negating most of Randleman's ground and pound attempts. In the third round, he tripped Randleman to the mat and landed several strikes from full mount for

4000-416: The final two fights on his contract. Couture held a press conference on October 25, 2007, where he denied his departure from UFC was a "retirement", set forth his grievances about his pay, and reiterated his belief that he would be free from any contractual obligations to the UFC after nine months. On October 30, 2007, White and Zuffa CEO Lorenzo Fertitta held another press conference, where White reiterated

4080-415: The first ruling in the case, issuing a preliminary injunction barring Couture from participating in an IFL event held the following day. On August 2, 2008, a Texas appeals court granted Zuffa's request for a stay against a motion for a declaratory judgment in a suit filed by HDNet regarding Couture's contractual status with the UFC. The stay effectively ended the dispute in the state of Texas, and Zuffa

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4160-498: The first three rounds, 39-year-old Couture became noticeably fatigued. In the fifth round, Rodriguez took him down and landed an elbow strike to his orbital bone, breaking it and making him submit. This was the first time a UFC fight had finished in the fifth round. After two consecutive losses to larger opponents in the heavyweight division, Couture moved down to the light heavyweight division. In his light heavyweight debut, he fought long-time number one contender Chuck Liddell for

4240-425: The immediacy, and over time have been linked to permanent neurodegenerative diseases such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy ("punch-drunk syndrome"). Because of this, many physicians advise against sports involving knockouts. A knockdown occurs when a fighter touches the floor of the ring with any part of the body other than the feet following a hit, but is able to rise back up and continue fighting. The term

4320-530: The loss was controversial due to Illoukhine locking the hold while they were being re-positioned on the center of the ring. After that loss, he took a break from MMA to focus on his amateur wrestling career. Couture returned to MMA in October 2000, for the RINGS King of Kings Tournament 2000 . He won a unanimous decision over UFC veteran Jeremy Horn in his first fight, and then another over Pancrase veteran Ryūshi Yanagisawa . These two wins qualified him for

4400-432: The match is declared a draw. Little is known as to what exactly causes one to be knocked unconscious, but many agree it is related to trauma to the brain stem . This usually happens when the head rotates sharply, often as a result of a strike. There are three general manifestations of such trauma: A basic principle of boxing and other combat sports is to defend against this vulnerability by keeping both hands raised about

4480-429: The most exciting in UFC history, and Miocic openly felt disrespected because he never received the amount of promotion and support Ngannou did from UFC. Miocic dominated Ngannou for five rounds using strikes with clinch or ground control following takedowns, winning by unanimous decision and breaking the record for most consecutive title defenses for the heavyweight championship with his third successful defense. When he

4560-625: The next year he decided to pursue it. Despite never having competed in Greco-Roman he made the team. Upon discharge, Couture became a three-time Olympic team alternate (1988, 1992 and 1996), a semifinalist at the 2000 Olympic Trials, a three-time NCAA Division I All-American and a two-time NCAA Division I runner-up (1991 and 1992) at Oklahoma State University . In 1992, he was the Division I runner-up at 190 pounds (86 kg), coming in second after Mark Kerr . From 1989 to 1992 he accumulated

4640-420: The octagon early. Despite taking hard kicks to the shin, Miocic landed powerful punches with devastating accuracy to drop dos Santos, he then followed up with ground and pound to win the fight via TKO midway through the first round. The win also earned Miocic his fourth Performance of the Night bonus award. Miocic faced Francis Ngannou on January 20, 2018, at UFC 220 . The fight was anticipated as one of

4720-574: The opponent on the bottom. He has displayed a variety of skills in boxing and catch wrestling . He is the only UFC fighter to win a championship after becoming a Hall-of-Famer and is the oldest champion in MMA history with his title victory over Tim Sylvia at age 43. Couture was born in Everett, Washington , the son of Sharan Amelia (née King) and Edward Lewis "Ed" Couture. He wrestled at Lynnwood High School in Lynnwood, Washington , where he won

4800-428: The other, but Couture hit several takedowns and held positional control throughout the fight. After 21 minutes, he won a majority decision and became the new UFC Heavyweight Champion. Though this win was controversial as many believe Smith did enough to win the fight. In 1998, UFC matchmakers wanted Couture to defend the belt against Bas Rutten, former King of Pancrase . Couture instead signed with Vale Tudo Japan , and

4880-483: The record for most wins in heavyweight title fights along with the longest title defense streak in the heavyweight division, at three consecutive defenses. Miocic holds the record for fight-night bonus awards, with nine, the most in the UFC heavyweight division's history. He is widely regarded as the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time. Prior to his MMA career, Miocic was a Golden Gloves boxing champion and NCAA Division I wrestler at Cleveland State University . He

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4960-486: The round. The player who wins the most rounds, either by scoring the most knockouts or by having more vitality remaining when time expires during each round, wins the match. This differs from combat sports in reality, where a knockout ends the match immediately. However, some fighting games aim for a more realistic experience, with titles like Fight Night adhering to the rules of professional boxing, although technically they are classified as sports games , and share many of

5040-469: The same features as NFL and NBA video games. A technical knockout ( TKO or T.K.O. ), stoppage , or referee stopped contest (RSC) is declared when the referee decides during a round that a fighter cannot safely continue the match for any reason. Certain sanctioning bodies also allow the official attending physician at ringside to stop the fight as well. In amateur boxing, and in many regions professionally, including championship fights sanctioned by

5120-402: The second round. Miocic faced Stefan Struve on September 29, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV 5 . He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. The performance earned both participants "Fight of the Night" honors. Miocic was scheduled to face returning veteran Soa Palelei on June 15, 2013, at UFC 161 . After an injury to UFC 161 headliner Renan Barao, the card was slightly reshuffled. Miocic

5200-472: The third round. His third title defense was in March 2002, against up-and-comer Josh Barnett . In the second round, Barnett mounted Couture and landed several strikes to win the title by TKO. After the fight, it was revealed Barnett had tested positive for anabolic steroids . He was subsequently stripped of the title and cut from the UFC. Couture then faced Ricco Rodriguez for the vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 39 , in late 2002. After dominating

5280-480: The third round. In his post-fight interview, Miocic announced his retirement from mixed martial arts. Miocic works as a full-time firefighter and paramedic, becoming full-time in 2022 after many years of part-time work, in Oakwood and Valley View, Ohio . The reason he stated he switched to full-time was for health care and insurance coverage for his family long-term. When asked by Joe Rogan why he still works as

5360-699: Was allegedly paid more than he was, despite losing his previous two fights. Couture cited the UFC 's failure to sign #1 ranked Heavyweight fighter Fedor Emelianenko , as well as disputes with UFC management, for his decision. Couture coached Oregon Fighter Musio Chavez for the Inter-collegiate Fight League. On October 18, 2007, UFC president Dana White said Couture remained the UFC Heavyweight Champion despite his plans to quit, and reiterated he would not release Couture from

5440-420: Was allowed to move forward with the Nevada suit. On September 2, 2008, the UFC announced it had signed Couture to a new three-fight contract. On November 15, he returned at UFC 91 in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he lost the UFC Heavyweight Championship to Brock Lesnar . At first a closely contested match, Lesnar knocked Couture down in the second round and struck him with hammerfists for a TKO victory at 3:07. In

5520-656: Was among the most popular watched movies on Netflix . He also appeared in the film Outlaw Johnny Black . Stipe Miocic Stipe Miocic (born August 19, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and currently works as a firefighter . He competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion . Having successfully defended his title four times during his two title reigns, he holds

5600-491: Was an underdog, as 19-year-old Belfort was the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Champion , winning all of his matches with devastating punches. After circling away from Belfort's left hand, Couture got the clinch . The fighters broke up and, when Belfort attempted a flurry of punches, Couture hit a takedown. He immediately gained side control and landed strikes. As Belfort scrambled to his feet, Couture landed knee strikes. He clinched again and wore Belfort down with dirty boxing. By

5680-551: Was announced as the winner, instead of the usual practice, he took the belt from Dana White and had his coach Marcus Marinelli put it around him. Miocic received congratulations from both the President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković . For his fourth title defense, Miocic faced UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier on July 7, 2018, in the main event at UFC 226 . The champion vs. champion matchup

5760-448: Was announced that Couture would be one of the celebrities competing on the 19th season of Dancing with the Stars . He paired with professional dancer Karina Smirnoff . The couple was eliminated on the third week of competition finishing in eleventh place. Couture has appeared in 4 episodes of the TV series Hawaii Five-0 as Jason Duclair. Couture appeared on Impractical Jokers as

5840-688: Was beating boxers with much more experience. In MMA he quickly achieved a 5-0 amateur record with all five wins coming by first-round stoppage. After this he decided to take a foray into amateur boxing bouts. He won the Cleveland Golden Gloves and made it to the nationals, winning his first two bouts in the quarter-finals before being eliminated in a decision loss to future world title contender Bryant Jennings . His record in Golden Gloves boxing matches stands 4-1, with 2 victories by knockout. After only eight months of training with

5920-430: Was billed as "The Superfight". Miocic was the favorite heading into the bout, mainly due to his natural size and power advantage as well as his dangerous striking on the feet. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round, ending his championship reign. The knockout came in controversial fashion, as Cormier was warned multiple times by referee Marc Goddard for extending his fingers towards Miocic's face and poking him in

6000-945: Was born and raised in Euclid, Ohio , on August 19, 1982, the son of Croatian immigrants Kathy and Bojan Miocic ( Croatian : Miočić , pronounced [mîotʃitɕ] ; ). His father originates from Rtina , while his mother is from Cetingrad , Croatia. His parents separated when he was still a child and he continued to live with his mother, initially with grandparents, and later lived with his stepfather and younger half-brother Jonathan. Since childhood, his mother encouraged his involvement in sports. Miocic played baseball and American football and wrestled while at Eastlake North High School . He received interest from Major League Baseball teams during his collegiate years at Cleveland State University and Trevecca Nazarene University . He also played Division II baseball at Coker College his junior year of college. While wrestling in

6080-611: Was brought as a training partner to wrestle with Dan Bobish in Strong Style MMA Training Centre, in Independence, Ohio. Miocic at the time trained various sports (wrestling and baseball), to once again come train with them after finishing his paramedic education at Cuyahoga Community College . He initially trained in mixed martial arts but soon changed to boxing . His coach Marcus Marinelli recalled that although he trained only for several months he

6160-521: Was featured in the season two premiere episode of the Spike TV show Pros vs. Joes , which aired January 25, 2007. His teammates on the episode were Michael Irvin , Kevin Willis , and José Canseco . He returned for the finale, where he took part in a football -based round. His teammates were Willis, Randall Cunningham , Bruce Smith , Roy Jones Jr. , and Tim Hardaway . On January 11, 2007, Couture announced his return from retirement in an interview on

6240-405: Was paired with Roy Nelson . Miocic, as a significant betting underdog, defeated Nelson via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 30–27). Miocic faced Gabriel Gonzaga on January 25, 2014, at UFC on Fox 10 . He won the fight via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 29–28). Miocic was expected to face Junior dos Santos on May 24, 2014, at UFC 173 . The bout was then expected to take place

6320-506: Was quickly rebooked and faced Andrei Arlovski in a title eliminator on January 2, 2016, at UFC 195 . Miocic defeated Arlovski via TKO at 0:54 in the first round. The win also earned him his second "Performance of the Night" bonus award. Miocic was briefly scheduled to replace the injured Cain Velasquez and fight Fabrício Werdum for the UFC Heavyweight Championship on February 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 82 . On January 25, 2016,

6400-513: Was stripped of the title. He had his first and only match against Shooto veteran and grappling specialist Enson Inoue . After taking the fight to the ground, Couture tapped out to an armbar, just over 90 seconds into the bout. Still in Japan, Couture was signed up with Fighting Network RINGS , debuting against Mikhail Illoukhine on March 20, 1999, in RINGS . Couture submitted to a kimura , though

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