Stipe Miocic fires back at Alistair Overeem accusing him of tapping out

CLEVELAND — Following a brutal knockout loss at UFC 203, Alistair Overeem claimed that UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic tapped out when he applied a guillotine choke early in the first round of their matchup on Saturday night.

Overeem connected with a stinging left hand that staggered Miocic before following him to the ground where he applied the choke.

Overeem fell back into his guard after grabbing onto Miocic's neck and head, but the Ohio native was eventually able to work free and a few moments later he had earned the victory with a barrage of punches on the ground.

Replays showed that Miocic didn't quit, but Overeem remained steadfast that he felt the champion tap out after applying the choke. Miocic obviously had other ideas.

"I don't know how I tapped out, I had two hands on his hands," Miocic said at the UFC 203 post fight press conference. "He's obviously not feeling too good right now. Honestly, (the choke) sucked, it was terrible, he threw a lot harder than I thought, he kicked a lot harder than I thought, that was my own fault. I knew everything was coming, I trained for those situations. He put me on my ass, I felt fine.

"He got me in that front headlock, I felt fine. I just kept scooting to my right, he didn't like it and he gave me the opportunity when he fell on the ground and when I got on top of him, game over."

Overeem was insistent when speaking to UFC commentator Joe Rogan after the defeat when speaking about Miocic's alleged tap.

For his part, the defending champion said that he heard about what Overeem was saying after he had already left the Octagon but he wasn't too concerned about the accusations somehow taking away from his victory.

Miocic knows he didn't tap out just the same way he knows Overeem got knocked out cold before the buzzer for the first round ever had a chance to sound.

"I didn't (tap)," Miocic said. "I remember I was in the back signing my check and all that stuff and I heard the boos and I asked what they were booing about cause I knew that was talking and they told me that he said that I tapped out.

Miocic earned his fourth straight victory on Saturday night with the first round stoppage against Overeem.

The fight also marked the fourth time in a row Miocic has won by knockout and now he adds Overeem's name to his growing list of victims in the UFC.