After Daniel Cormier meets Stipe Miocic in a heavyweight title rematch at UFC 241 this August in Anaheim, Calif., it may be the last time fight fans see “DC” compete inside of the Octagon.
Cormier, who defeated Miocic via knockout back at UFC 226 to claim the heavyweight crown and become a two-division champion, was expected to fight WWE superstar Brock Lesnar this year in an ultimate swan song. That bout, although an intriguing one, never came to fruition after Lesnar resigned with WWE and permanently put his UFC return on ice.
Instead, “DC” will run it back with Stipe, who has been waiting for his rematch for nearly a year. It’s a matchup that Cormier is happy to take but understands things could go a little different this time around.
“I think he’s going to be upset. I think he’s going to be little emotional,” said Cormier of Miocic in a recent interview with TMZ Sports (shown above). “I truly believe that he’s going to be a better version of himself. I don’t think for a second that he’s going to make the same mistakes that he did this time. I think it’s going to be a much more difficult fight.”
Despite his impending rematch with Miocic, Cormier still seems to be contemplating retirement from MMA. The now 40-year-old remains one of the best fighters in the world today, but he doesn’t know if he’ll have a future after UFC 241 comes to an end.
“You know I always said that I was going to fight until I turned 40, which would have been March at a card March 2nd, but I couldn’t make that one,” began Cormier when asked if the Miocic rematch would be his last UFC fight. “If I hold true to what I was saying then this would be the final one. I don’t anticipate fighting much past this. I just want to go out there and do my thing.”
I guess that means a trilogy fight with Jon Jones is currently out of the question.
Cormier can plan his retirement all he wants, but at the end of the day UFC president Dana White will do whatever he has to do to prolong “DC’s” career. That’s a good thing, though, considering Cormier is arguably the best he’s ever been as the current UFC heavyweight champion.
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