August 15, 2019 – ESPN gives us a look into 24 hours with Croatian-American mixed martial artist Stipe Miocic.
We’ve officially begun the countdown to the martial arts spectacle of the year – the rematch of Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic. And while Cormier is especially active on social media leading up to the fight, Miocic is quiet, only briefly stating that ”the belt will be mine again.”
However, Miocic has found in a place in the spotlight thanks to ESPN, who gave their readers a closer look into the Croatian-American’s life in a piece titled ‘Inside a 24-hour firehouse shift with UFC heavyweight Stipe Miocic’ on August 13, 2019.
ESPN visited the UFC heavyweight at his part-time job where he is a firefighter at the Valley View Fire Department in Ohio. Miocic was just about to begin a 24-hour shift.
“The smell of pain-relief cream wafts in from the room where Miocic is changing. He says he’s a bit ‘worn out’. He has been in training camp for two months, juggling mixed martial arts training five or six days per week with three firehouse shifts per week. He trains sometimes twice daily, and those firehouse shifts are 12 or 24 hours apiece. This is his last one before he will celebrate his daughter Meelah’s first birthday and start to focus full time on trying to reclaim the UFC title he lost to Cormier in July 2018,” writes ESPN.
“Miocic’s name is spelled incorrectly — ‘Moicic; — on his fire jacket, and he has never cared enough to get it changed. For the UFC, he’s a headliner on the marquee, one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time. At the station, spelling his name right isn’t even a priority,” they continue.
ESPN follows Miocic as he begins his shift, and delves into the mixed martial artist’s life from his proud Uber rating to what it’s like at home with wife Rochelle and their 6-year-old daughter, Savannah.
“I just tell people I’m a firefighter,” Miocic says. “I’m not looking for any acknowledgment.”
You can read the full article on ESPN.
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