Daniel Cormier is going back to his roots.
Cormier is expected to have his final foray in the Octagon when he faces Stipe Miocic in a planned trilogy fight for the UFC heavyweight title later this year.
Cormier, of course, won the heavyweight strap when he knocked out Miocic in the summer of 2018. “DC” would also dominate the rematch at UFC 241 in August as he utilized his wrestling to great effect for majority of the fight.
However, he would later abandon the game plan and resort to just striking which ultimately led to his demise. Miocic countered with a number of body shots that eventually helped him get the fourth-round TKO finish and regain the title.
And ahead of the trilogy, Cormier plans on bringing in more wrestlers for his camp as he gets back to basics.
“I’ve got to get back to wrestling,” Cormier said in a recent video with Olympian Kerry McCoy (via MMA Fighting). “I’ve got to get back to guys like you Kerry, who are actually going to be able to tell me that ain’t enough. I have Bob [Cook] and my coaches do but I need to have that. Like Jamill [Kelly], when I was making 205 [pounds], Jamill would come and do the weight cuts with me. It wasn’t enough, he’d say that ain’t enough. Shawn Bunch does my weight cuts with me and if he thinks ‘DC, you gotta get back in there a little bit before we go home, you’ve got to do that.’
“But you’ve got to have those guys that knew you before all the fame, all the money and all the attention to really put you in your place. I think you know me in a way and I’m wrestling and I’m not doing enough, you’re going to tell me I’m not doing enough. I’m putting together a great camp for this last fight and I can’t wait to get ready.”
One thing remains for sure — this will be Cormier’s last fight regardless of the result.
As he has mentioned in the past, it won’t be easy for a fighter as competitive as him to leave the sport. But going out by winning the heavyweight title would also be a perfect way of bowing out.
“I’m going to fight Stipe Miocic one last time and then I’m going to be done with this whole thing,” Cormier added. “I love this sport. I’m a competitive guy. Getting away from competition is going to be tough but I know that to win the heavyweight championship again is the right way to go out.
“Stipe and I have a fantastic trilogy. He’s a wrestler himself. Very respectful guy. Firefighter. Tough guy. But I need to be the champion as I’m done with this thing.”
Do you think Cormier takes the trilogy and retires on a high?