Tag: Stipe Miocic

UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier claims that his rematch with Stipe Miocic at UFC 241 could be the final fight of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career.

The pair initially fought back at UFC 226 in July of 2018. Cormier knocked out Miocic in the first round to capture the heavyweight throne. Miocic has been gunning for a rematch with “DC” ever since, but with no luck until last month. It was announced their rematch will be headlining the UFC 241 pay-per-view (PPV) from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Speaking to TMZ Sports recently, Cormier said he doesn’t expect things to be as easy the second time around. Instead, he’s expecting a much more difficult contest:

“I think he’s going to be mad, I think he’s going to be upset,” Cormier said. “I think he might be a little bit emotional. But I truly believe that he’s going to be a better version of himself. I don’t think for a second he’s going to make the same mistakes that he did the first time.

“I think it’s going to be a much more difficult fight. There were some areas that Stipe could have done better and I believe his coach is a fantastic coach, and he’ll go and address those issues. So I’m going to have a much tougher fight on my hands this time.”

Cormier had previously stated that he wanted to retire before he turned 40-years-old. That happened three months ago. He intended on fighting beforehand at UFC 235 on March 2. Unfortunately, no deal was materialized for that date. However, “DC” said, if he holds true to his word, this very well could be the last fight of his career:

“You know, I always said I was going to fight until – about to turn 40 which would’ve been March. In a card March 2nd, Cormier said. “I couldn’t make that one, so, if I hold true to what I was saying then this would be the final one. I don’t anticipate fighting much past this. I just want to go out there and do my thing.

“But, ultimately, I know what led to me having trouble in wrestling. Knowing, like, there are so many differences in wrestling. I was like, “Last time I’m ever going to weigh-in, last time I’m going to do this -,” I don’t need to be looking at it as if it’s a weight off of my shoulders. I get the opportunity to prepare again. I get the opportunity to go chase another gold belt. A new gold belt. I got to really live in that and enjoy that.”

Check out Cormier’s interview with TMZ below:

The post Daniel Cormier Claims Stipe Miocic Rematch Could Be His Last Fight appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

While ring rust is a concern for many MMA fighters, UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes Stipe Miocic’s long layoff could benefit him.

Miocic will be making his return to the Octagon after over a year when he rematches heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 241 on August 17. The Cleveland native lost his title after getting knocked by Cormier at UFC 226 last July.

Rather than staying active, Miocic notably chose to call out “DC” repeatedly. In the end, it paid off as he now gets his shot at not only regaining his title back, but getting some revenge as well, as things have become slightly personal between the two.

And Rogan believes Miocic has had more than enough time to stew on his mistakes in the first fight and won’t find ring rust to be an issue.

“DC connected with that beautiful punch in the clinch, but Stipe has had over a year to stew on that. It’s been driving him f*cking crazy.” Rogan said on his podcast. “I think it’s [the time off] good for Stipe. Stipe’s an animal, I’m not worried about that. I think he’s going to be better.

“Stipe’s a real veteran. He’s a humble dude. He’s a hard a*s, he’s not going to come in there with a lot of expectations on himself. He’s just going to do his best. If Donald Cerrone was taking a year plus off and then was going to fight for a title, I’d be like ‘woo, I’d like Donald to get a fight in.’”

Do you think Miocic made the right call to fight Cormier after more than a year’s layoff?

The post Joe Rogan: Time Off Will Benefit Stipe Miocic Against Daniel Cormier appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.