Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC
Daniel Cormier officially called it a day in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career after losing to Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 252 last Sat. night (Aug. 15, 2020) inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A few days removed from the defeat, “D.C.” issued a statement on his Instagram account reflecting on his career and thanking everyone who has been a part of his journey that saw him win the UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight titles, as well as the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix
“Thank you all for the love and support. Not what I wanted or expected but it is what it is. Congrats to Stipe Miocic on a fantastic fight, was an honor and pleasure to share the Octagon with you for 50 minutes,” said a gracious Cormier.
“Boy did we give ‘em a show every time. To my team: I love you all to death, you’ve made so many sacrifices. I hope I made you guys proud. Salina and the kids: thank you for being my motivation. To all the fans: I love you so much. You guys push me to try and be great. To Dana White and the UFC I have loved every minute. Thank you for giving me the opportunity. Been a helluva ride, huh?”
Aside from suffering a second straight loss to Miocic, Cormier suffered a torn cornea in his right eye after the Heavyweight champion inadvertently poked him in the eye in the third round of the fight.
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After the bout, Cormier revealed that he couldn’t see nothing but darkness out of the injured eye. In the end, Miocic earned a clean sweep on the judges’ scorecards to put the final nail in the coffin on his rivalry with the former Olympian.
Cormier leaves the sport with 22 wins, three losses and one “no contest,” losing only to Miocic (twice) and current Light Heavyweight champion, Jon Jones. As for what the future holds for the former champ-champ, he will still be an integral part of American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), as well as a part of UFC’s broadcast team for years to come.