CLEVELAND -- Stipe Miocic broke this citys curse in May, when he won the UFC heavyweight championship. On Saturday, he made sure the curse stayed buried.Miocic (16-2) recorded his first title defense at UFC 203 inside Quicken Loans Arena, knocking out Alistair Overeem with strikes on the ground at 4:27 of the opening round.It was a career moment for the Ohio native, who was forced to win the title inside the unfriendly confines of Curitiba, Brazil, against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 198.A former Strikeforce and K-1 kickboxing champion, Overeem (41-15) dropped Miocic with a left hand in the opening moments and immediately went for a guillotine. The choke appeared tight, but Miocic managed to shake free of it and get back to his feet. Overeem later claimed Miocic had tapped and the referee had missed it, but replays could not verify the claim.Miocic, who recovered quickly from the knockdown after getting back to his feet, also said he wasnt in danger on the choke.He kicked harder than I thought, Miocic said. He put me on my ass, and that guillotine -- I trained to get out of it. Im a boxer, wrestler, but I train that s--- every day.It is the 12th knockout win of Miocics career. A former collegiate wrestler and baseball player, Miocic stunned Overeem with a jab and right hand after trapping him along the fence.The Cleveland crowd roared as Miocic hammered Overeem with a right uppercut and another straight right moments later. On several occasions, Overeem literally ran away from Miocic in an effort to circle away from the pressure. He also threw a counter left hand to back Miocic off, but Miocic absorbed the punch well and continued to pursue.The finishing sequence began when Miocic caught a side kick aimed at his legs, a staple of Overeems game since joining Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Overeem tried to roll out of the takedown, but Miocic followed him to the floor on the scramble and got into top position with less than a minute left in the round. Two hard right hands left Overeem unconscious and officially guaranteed the UFC championship would remain in Ohio.Stipe was the better man today, Overeem said. Hes a great athlete. Hes tough.Originally from Amsterdam, Overeem suffered his first loss since Sept. 2014. It is the 10th knockout loss of the 36-year-olds career. Prior to UFC 203, he had recorded wins over Stefan Struve, Roy Nelson, Junior dos Santos and Andrei Arlovski. Overeem was originally supposed to fight for the UFC title in 2012 but lost the opportunity when he failed a random drug test in Nevada. He went on to lose three of his next four fights before turning it around with a four-fight win streak.Former champion Cain Velasquez (14-2) and Werdum (21-6-1) are the most obvious candidates to fight for the belt next. Werdum picked up a unanimous decision win against Travis Browne in Saturdays co-main event. Cubs Jerseys China . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay. Cheap Anthony Rizzo Jersey . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. http://www.cheapcubsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=cheap-jason-heyward-jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. Cheap Cubs Jerseys .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Cheap Mark Grace Jersey ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Chiefs Derrick Johnson left Thursday nights game against the Oakland Raiders late in the first half after falling to the turf untouched and immediately grabbing his left Achilles -- an eerily familiar sight for the four-time Pro Bowl linebacker.Kansas City had just taken a 21-3 lead in their AFC West showdown when Johnson fell to the turf away from the play. He ripped off his helmet and slammed it to the ground, and the look of frustration on his face was clear as the training staff and coach Andy Reid ran onto the field.Johnson ruptured his right Achilles in similar fashion two years ago.The training staff took off Johnsons left shoe, and he was helped off the field without putting any weight on the foot. He spent the rest of the half sitting on one of the heated benches.The Chiefs wasted no time ruling him out for the game.The 34-year-old Johnson, already the Chiefs career tackles leader, had been having another stellar season. He came into the game with 89 tackles, a sack and an interception that he returned for a score to highlight the first year of a $21 million, three-year deal that he signed in March.ddddddddddddKansas City was already without middle linebacker Josh Mauga, who had season-ending surgery to his hip in training camp, and Justin March-Lillard, who had surgery on a broken hand in October.The injury to Johnson seemed to deflate the defense, which then allowed the Raiders to march 92 yards in 14 plays for a touchdown that made it 21-10 at halftime.The Chiefs also lost defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches to back spasms in the first half.Oakland was missing three starters at kickoff after offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele was scratched late due to an illness. Rookie safety Karl Joseph had been ruled out Wednesday with a toe injury, while defensive tackle Stacy McGee was sidelined by an ankle injury.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '