Stipe Miocic knocked out Junior dos Santos in the first round at UFC 211, defending his title and so much more. 

He defended his status as the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time. 

Here's a list of every UFC heavyweight who defended his title two times: 

1. ​Randy Couture 
2. Tim Sylvia
3. Brock Lesnar
4. Cain Velasquez

And here's a list of every UFC heavyweight who did it as convincingly as Miocic: 
...

Exactly. 

Couture defended his heavyweight title against the same dude--Pedro Rizzo--at UFC 31 and UFC 34 before losing to Josh Barnett at UFC 36. While he'd later reclaim the UFC heavyweight throne at UFC 68, he wouldn't achieve more than two defenses, losing in his second try to Brock Lesnar at UFC 91.  

Tim Sylvia beat Andrei Arlovski for the title at UFC 59, then defended against Arlovski and Jeff Monson before losing the title to Couture. 

Lesnar won the title from Couture, beat Frank Mir and Shane Carwin, then got steamrolled by Velasquez at UFC 121.

Velasquez, meanwhile, beat dos Santos to win the title, then defended against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, then beat dos Santos again before losing to Fabricio Werdum. 

Enter the man to knock out Werdum and claim the throne as the legitimate baddest dude on earth: the fire-fightin', Stipeweiser-chuggin', Cleveland-rootin' son of a gun himself, Stipe Miocic. 


May 13, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Stipe Miocic (red gloves) defeats Junior Dos Santos (blue gloves) during UFC 211 at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

This is the UFC heavyweight champion we've needed. After knocking out dos Santos with a perfect right hook and follow-up ground-and-pound at UFC 211, there's little to discuss. 

Miocic has finished five straight opponents. All five of those opponents--dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Werdum, Arlovski, and Mark Hunt--are still in the top 10 of the UFC's rankings as of this article's publication. 

He's fighting legitimate opposition, and he's smashing them into the canvas. That winning streak also came in a stretch of almost exactly two years--from May 10, 2015 to May 13, 2017--making him one of the most active UFC heavyweight champs in recent memory. 

Look, y'all...I could point to Miocic's natural charisma and charm, which you can see for yourself on social media or on UFC Embedded. 

But the fact is, this dude straight up obliterates foes when he steps in the UFC Octagon. All three of his title bids ended in the first round--and his hand was raised. 

He's dispatching tough tests with ease, and the ​only ​threats he hasn't squared up against yet are as follows: ​

1. ​Cain Velasquez
2. Francis Ngannou
3. Jon Jones

The time is coming for Ngannou, who is still largely unproven, so we'll let that one play out, and Jones' heavyweight debut is still in limbo, as he must first get through Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 in Anaheim.

That leaves Velasquez. What, based upon recent showings, makes you think Miocic wouldn't be favored here? 

Velasquez, in his run atop the UFC heavyweight class, looked unstoppable. His boxing was sharp, his pressure was suffocating, and his cardio was relentless. 

But is that the same fighter he is today? 

He's fought twice since June of 2015, going 1-1 during that stretch, so it's hard to tell. Miocic, meanwhile, keeps stepping up to the plate and knocking 'em out. When presented with these options, you have to side with the more active and more proven fighter. MMA is a "what have you done for me lately" sport, and Miocic is putting food on the table. Velasquez leaves you to starve. 

Until proven otherwise, Miocic's sledgehammer fists deserve respect, and right now, they're looking like the finest paws to ever grace the UFC Octagon in the big boys' division. Maybe it's by default. Maybe it's just the nature of the heavyweight class. 

But after watching Miocic run through a former champion at UFC 211, I'm left wondering: 

Who can stop this man?