Stipe Miocic to Face Winner of Fabricio Werdum vs Cain Velasquez Match

When Stipe Miocic entered the ring against Andrei Arlovski, he was pretty aware of the stakes on the table. There was no room for mistakes so he had to bring his A-game to keep his head afloat if he is to one day vie for the UFC heavyweight title.

Miocic did just that, finishing of Arlovski in just 54 seconds of the first round of their scheduled tiff at UFC 195 as reported via the Bleacher Report. So now he awaits his fate, something that could very well be known by Feb. 6 when UFC champion Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez slug it out for UFC 196.

However, is Miocic now the no. 1 contender?

Looming in the background were the names of Ben Rothwell and Alistair Overeem, fighters who were in play for a possible title shot. But Miocic’s psycho tirades may have just worked to his advantage with Dana White officially naming him as the no. 1 contender to the UFC heavyweight title per reports by MMAfighting.com.

Miocic made it clear that he wanted his title shot. He shouted such to Dana White after disposing of Arlovski and reiterated the call yet again when Joe Rogan handed him the microphone.

Here was the official response of White to Miotic:

“Who the hell was going to say no to him?" said White. "He was like a psycho. I wasn't going to say no. ‘Are we on the same page now?!' "Yes. We are on the same page, Stipe."

With that out of the way, expect Miocic to keep a close watch on how the Werdum-Velasquez fight turns out.

Velasquez is, of course, seeking to avenge his previous loss to Werdum at UFC at UFC 188. He was forced to submit to the Brazilian at that time where the high altitude was being singled out as one of the reasons why Velasquez found it rough against Werdum.

This time, however, the setting will be different with both fighters squaring off at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

A repeat by Werdum could place Velasquez on the doldrums of probably calling it a career. Either way, Miocic seems to care less on who he eventually faces next.

“I have the best coaches in the world. They have all the confidence in me, I have confidence in them. Whoever it is, I don't care," he said plainly. "I want my shot," says Miocic via MMAfighting.com.