Daniel Cormier says he isn’t bothered about potentially having his retirement fight in front of no audience.
Speaking on the latest episode of DC and Helwani, the former dual weight UFC champion insisted he’ll just be happy to get one more fight in and he’s grateful for that even if it means competing without fans in attendance.
“It’s going to end that way,” Cormier said. “Empty arena and if it’s at the (UFC) Apex, I think the cage is smaller. It’s like the Ultimate Fighter cage, so that’s a whole other fight. It’s a smaller cage than the one we fight in for pay-per-views. But yeah, I’ll go fight this guy in the empty arena. I want to fight him. Yeah, you know, it could end like that or it could end like Vince Carter. Vince actually got lucky that they got to finish their game. Vince got to finish their game and everybody kind of moved off the side and he shot a three-pointer. You can not have a chance to finish, so at least I get an opportunity to finish.”
Cormier is referencing NBA player Vince Carter, whose 22-year career was supposed to draw to a close this season. In March, the NBA suspended the rest of its season, meaning Carter’s illustrious career has come to a quiet end. ‘DC’ is happy for his career to come to an end in similar circumstances, as long as his family is in attendance to watch him scrap it out once last time, he said.
“I don’t know how it would work with my family. That is the one thing I would want. I would want my wife and kids to experience that last one, but I don’t know if that’s even gonna be possible if it’s done in that way. So, a little bit different, a little different though.”
A trilogy bout with heavyweight rival Stipe Miocic was thought to be in the pipeline this summer. Cormier is now unsure when he’ll be fighting but believes that everything going on the world will actually make his final fight more special than it ever could have been, he explained.
“I was pretty confident that it was gonna happen at the time in my head that I know, but right now I don’t know when in the summer it’s gonna happen. But I just can feel that when it does, it’s gonna be bigger than it was ever gonna be. . . More good fights, more people at home watching. It’s gonna be the perfect way to go out – on top, as the man.”
Do you think Daniel Cormier will be able to end his career with a win against Stipe Miocic?