Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Despite everything Daniel Cormier has been saying leading up to his trilogy bout with UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic this weekend at UFC 252, UFC president Dana White doesn’t believe “DC” will actually retire and walk away from the sport.
Cormier, who turned 41 back in March, has been talking about retirement for nearly two years. The former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion is already one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the history of the sport and simply has nothing left to prove. With a cushy UFC commentator gig, coaching responsibilities, and another child on the way, Cormier is ready to close this chapter of his life and put a cap on his MMA career this weekend at UFC 252.
However, White isn’t sold that “DC” will actually stick to his guns and retire after his trilogy fight against Miocic. It’s obvious that White would want to keep Cormier around considering the former two-division champion is one of the most respected and popular fighters in the sport today, but that isn’t why the UFC president is casting doubt on “DC’s” retirement plans just days out from UFC 252.
Instead, White believes Cormier will ultimately get in his own head and want to continue fighting whether he wins or loses his next trip to the cage.
“No, it’s not (Cormier’s final fight),” White told ESPN earlier this week. “No, it’s not. It’s obviously going to depend on how the fight plays out on Saturday night. If Cormier wins in spectacular fashion, this will not be his last fight. And knowing him the way that I do, if he loses, then it will be, ‘I can’t go out like this.’
“You know me: When people start talk about retiring, I think they should. Stipe, who people were saying is probably going to retire after this, too, but he squashed that tonight, I don’t think either one of them should retire. They’re two of the best in the world, and they still have a lot left in them. But we’ll see. We’ll see how the fight goes on Saturday.”
If Cormier does in fact change his mind and decides to return to the Octagon in the near future White isn’t exactly sure who he would face. A victory at UFC 252 could set “DC” up for a trilogy bout with Jon Jones at heavyweight or even a clash with current top contender Francis Ngannou, but nothing is on the table as of now.
“There is no plan,” White said. “I’m going to watch the fight on Saturday, I’m going to see who wins, and then on Tuesday there will be a matchmaker meeting, and we’ll go in and start talking about what’s next.”
UFC 252 will go down tomorrow night (Sat., Aug. 15, 2020) live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, and feature a bantamweight co-main event between rising superstar Sean O’Malley and veteran finisher Marlon Vera.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 252 fight card this weekend RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+/Fight Pass “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN+/ESPN at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.