Stipe Miocic earned a break from the Octagon.

The UFC heavyweight champion was exhausted following his five-round epic victory over rival Daniel Cormier. If you viewed his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, you could hear how a nearly half an hour of combat took its toll on the winded Miocic, which is to be expected when you’re defending your belt against a fellow MMA legend.

“My leg was sore and pretty beat up, my face was a little nicked up and my hands were hurting, but what would you expect after 25 minutes with DC?” Miocic says. “I’ll treasure the amazing battles we had.”

Now, two months since the conclusion of their titanic trilogy, MMA fans are now itching to find out Miocic’s next blockbuster matchup, with rumors swirling of a possible rematch with No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou kicking in. There’s also talk of a matchup against former UFC and WWE heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar, as well as a highly anticipated superfight against Jon Jones.

Miocic will let that all into place. For the time being, whoever the next opponent is, as Cormier discovered, the UFC’s all-time best heavyweight is now fresh and physically prepared for his next opponent, thanks in part to a brutally effective and successful training routine that has helped keep him victorious of seven of his last eight fights. In fact, Miocic’s most formidable opponent at the moment when it comes to training, may be himself.

“If you know me, you know I’m stubborn,” Miocic says. “There’s days like, I don’t have it, but I’m going to keep going. But usually my coach is like, ‘You look like shit. We’re calling it a day.’ That usually happens by the end of the training week, when I’m really exhausted.”

The Ultimate Strength-Building MMA workout

The ultimate strength-building MMA workout

Gain real power and total-body strength.

Read article