Daniel Cormier has confirmed that he will be retiring from MMA win or lose following his trilogy bout with Stipe Miocic this summer.
While the highly anticipated rubber match has not been made official by the promotion, it is expected that Miocic and Cormier will throw down for a third time at UFC 252 this July.
‘DC’ and Miocic first met at UFC 226 in July of 2018. Stipe had entered that bout as the promotions reigning UFC heavyweight champion, but it was Cormier who ultimately claimed the throne with a first round knockout.
The rivals would rematch at UFC 241 in August of 2019, and this time it was Stipe Miocic who finished Daniel Cormier by way of fourth round knockout.
With 1 win apiece, the stage is now set for arguably the biggest fight in UFC heavyweight history.
While Daniel Cormier is obviously aiming to emerge victorious in his proposed trilogy bout with Stipe Miocic, the AKA Product says win or lose he will be retiring from the sport after the fight.
“I got one [fight left],” Cormier said during a Instagram Live chat (via MMAFighting). “Some guy asked me today, he goes ‘you gonna keep fighting?’. I said no. I said I got one [more fight]. Cause here’s the deal, you fight these guys, they’re 28, 27, I think [Israel] Adesanya’s very young. Some of these guys are very young. I don’t have to fight a young guy.”
Daniel Cormier continued:
“Miocic is about to be 38 years old. So I get to fight one more old guy, one more time. That’s it. I ain’t fighting no 27-year-old dude.”
Now 41-years of age, Cormier is ready and willing to talk away from the sport on his own terms. Regardless of what happens in his trilogy bout with Stipe Miocic, Daniel Cormier will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest fighters in MMA history.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com March 21, 2020