LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White didn't get to his stature in a business as rough and tumble as the fight game by showing fear in front of his fighters.
It takes an iron will to stay on top of a game in which you control the fates and fortunes of hundreds of men and women who use their fists and feet as lethal weapons.
But even mixed martial arts' leading promoter had to take a step back when heavyweight Stipe Miocic came raging in his direction like a silverback gorilla on Saturday night.
The Cleveland native went into full beast mode after knocking out former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in less than a minute in the co-feature bout of UFC 195 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. He charged toward White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, who were seated front row cageside, demanding a shot at the championship.
"Who the hell was going to say no to him?" White said at the UFC 195 postfight news conference. "He was like a psycho. I wasn't going to say no."
Both the swift finish of Arlovski and the outburst toward his bosses afterward were bold statements by the usually mild-mannered Miocic (14-2). The 33-year-old, who maintains a job as a firefighter in the Cleveland area, has long been known for doing his talking with his fists instead of his mouth. His victory was his 10th career knockout and his fifth win in his past sixth fights.
But these times in the heavyweight division call for a little extra statement. UFC 196 on Feb. 6 in Las Vegas will be headlined by a heavyweight title rematch between current champion Fabricio Werdum and two-time former champion Cain Velasquez.
Assuming Velasquez doesn't take the title in a manner that demands an immediate trilogy fight, there is an opening for the next title contender.
Alistair Overeem seemed to be in the lead spot for that slot when he scored a brutal knockout over former champion Junior dos Santos just two weeks ago at UFC on FOX 17 in Orlando.
So while both Miocic and Arlovski denied it in the buildup to their fight, they both knew it was going to take something pretty spectacular to get their boss' attention in a sport in which title shots can be handed out on a seemingly arbitrary basis.
Miocic struck first in the fight and made it count. In the bout's first big exchange, he wobbled Arlovski, who entered the encounter on a six-fight win streak and 4-0 since returning to the UFC, with a gigantic right hand to the jaw.
Miocic just missed with three straight monster left hands, which gave Arlovski enough time to straighten his posture, but he just left himself open for another right to the jaw. Miocic also connected on a left as Arlovski hit the mat. A few more punches to the grounded Arlovski were enough to get referee Herb Dean to wave the fight off at the 54-second mark.
"I wanted to end it," Miocic said. "Get it done. He's [a] super tough dude. He's a former champion. He's a nice guy, but it is what it is. I don't want to give him any chances."
Miocic's emotional display was as much a show of relief as anything else. He's been through a turbulent week in which an unidentified family member went through an illness, and his fight week was disrupted when flight cancellations because of storms caused him to not get into Las Vegas until the early hours of Thursday morning.
"I've had a rough couple weeks, man," Miocic said. "Some personal stuff with my family and it's great to have something good come out of this. I made my statement out there."
The heavyweight contender heads home to Ohio with a $50,000 performance of the night bonus and the idea he'll get the Werdum-Velasquez winner.
"I don't care who I face," Miocic said. "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."
Of course, plenty can change between now and then. Overeem is a free agent, and would be quite valuable to Bellator, whose CEO, Scott Coker, has a good relationship with Overeem. It's not out of the realm of possibility that a contractually guaranteed UFC title shot is the end result.
For now, though, White seems to believe he's found that next man to challenge for the belt.
"He was screaming, 'Are we on the same page now?' " White said. "We are on the same page, Stipe."
Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: @DaveDoyleMMA
