Miocic beats Werdum and is the new UFC heavyweight champion

RIO DE JANEIRO – Stipe Miocic of the United States beat Brazil’s Fabricio Werdum in front of a shocked home crowd to win the UFC heavyweight championship.

The American fighter used his boxing expertise to knock out the Brazilian in the first round of UFC 198 in Curitiba, Southern Brazil on Saturday.

Miocic, an Ohio firefighter, has won six of his past seven fights.

Werdum had won five straight fights, highlighted by a win against Mark Hunt for the interim title and then a submission victory against Cain Velasquez in a unification bout.

The bout was scheduled for February until Werdum pulled out with injuries and forced a postponement.

The event was held in front of a sold-out crowd of 45,000 fans at Arena da Baixada.