Dana White is open to the idea of stripping heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic if he refuses to fight during the COVID-19 pandemic.
White has been trying to make a trilogy fight between Miocic and former dual weight champion Daniel Cormier for quite some time now. The heavyweight king has been nursing an eye injury and is now keen to push back the potential fight back even further because of the ongoing global crisis. Speaking to ESPN Miocic said he would be open to fighting later this year.
“I have no cage, no training partners, nothing. I need a full camp. I need to be back in the swing of things before I even get into camp, because that’s how you get injured. I’m so used to training all the time and now I can’t do anything. It’s crazy. I have no training. There’s no place for me to train.
“There’s no way I can fight him in August. I have no idea what he’s talking about. The state of Ohio is shut down. What do you want me to do?”
“Listen, late fall, whatever is fine. As long as everything works out and we can train and everything is open.”
The UFC boss is not really a fan of that idea and made that much clear while speaking on UFC Unfiltered, he said.
“I saw a quote from Stipe recently where Stipe said there’s bigger things going on in the world right now, fighting will be there forever. It’s not true. Fighting will not be here forever. When you’re a professional athlete your window of opportunity is very small. So, hopefully, we can get Stipe back in there soon with Cormier and get the heavyweight division rolling.” (Transcribed by MMA Junkie)
White expanded on those thoughts when speaking with Barstool Sports. He said we’ll be seeing a heavyweight title fight with or without Miocic. “I think we’ll see a championship fight. Listen fights can happen now you either want to fight or you don’t. Interviewer Robbie Fox then asked White if he’d be open to stripping a champion who refuses to fight during the pandemic. “Possibly,” he responded.
Is Dana White wrong to think about stripping Stipe Miocic during a global crisis?