Stipe Miocic recently reflected on the toughest opponents that he faced in his career.
The former UFC heavyweight champion competed against multiple icons of the sport during his incredible career.
Even up to his last fight, where Miocic believes that he exposed weaknesses in Jon Jones, he was competing against the very best.
Miocic surprisingly named his first bout with Junior dos Santos as his toughest fight, having gone toe-to-toe with the Brazilian for five rounds.
In the same interview, he credited another former opponent with having the strongest chin that he ever came up against.
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Stipe Miocic recalls how fighting Mark Hunt in 2015 made his hands hurt
Stipe Miocic competed against several UFC heavyweights who were known for their incredible durability and resilience.
While Miocic faced Daniel Cormier on three occasions, with their trilogy ending at UFC 252, ‘DC’ wasn’t the opponent that came to mind when the former champion looked back at which of his opponents had the toughest chin.
There was one opponent that the American didn’t even need a second to name when he was posed the question during Sofascore’s A Guest and a Half.
Mark Hunt may be best known for his one-punch knockout power, but the MMA legend was also an incredibly difficult fighter to put away.
Miocic was able to successfully stop Hunt in the fifth round when they fought in 2015, but it certainly wasn’t easy to get ‘The Super Samoan’ out of there.
“Mark Hunt. I knew that one. I felt it. My hands hurt after that one. That guy took everything, I couldn’t get… he was tough, man. He had a great chin.”
Stipe Miocic’s finish over Mark Hunt kickstarted his run to the heavyweight title
Bouncing back from his war with Junior dos Santos by stopping Mark Hunt would end up being a pivotal moment in Stipe Miocic’s career.
This win would eventually turn into a streak that would see him break the record for the most consecutive defenses of the heavyweight title.
Following his fight with Hunt, Miocic returned in January of 2006, where he started to put together the biggest year of his career.
| Stipe Miocic’s opponents in 2016 | Date | Result |
| Andrei Arlovski | UFC 195, January 2 | Miocic via TKO – 0:56 of Round 1 |
| Fabricio Werdum | UFC 198, May 14 | Miocic via KO – 2:47 of Round 1 |
| Alistair Overeem | UFC 203, September 10 | Miocic via KO – 4:27 of Round 1 |
His streak continued on until UFC 220, where he was finished by Daniel Cormier in the opening round.