Stipe Miocic: ‘I Don’t Want to go Through Another Slugfest’ With JDS

Stipe Miocic feels prepared for a five-round war, but it’s not ideal.

Miocic, who is the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title holder, will defend his championship for the second time at UFC 211. His opponent will be Junior dos Santos. The heavyweight title bout takes place this Saturday night (May 13).

In Miocic’s first encounter with dos Santos, he went the distance in a five-round fight for the first time in his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career. It’s an experience that Miocic would rather not go through again (via MMAJunkie.com):

“It’s not fun at all. I don’t want to go through another slugfest. I want to do my fight. It’s not going five rounds, I can tell you that right now. And I’m not doing that and losing – I’m walking out with the belt still wrapped around my waist. I don’t really care what it takes. It’s going to happen.”

UFC 211 will also feature a strawweight title bout. Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk defends her gold against Jessica Andrade. A pivotal bout in the welterweight division will see Demian Maia battle Jorge Masvidal.

Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will look to stop the hype train of Yair Rodriguez. UFC 211 airs live on pay-per-view (PPV) at 10 p.m. ET.