UFC star Daniel Cormier has revealed why his defeat to Stipe Miocic was harder to swallow than his two losses to Jon Jones.

Cormier shocked the world back at UFC 226 when he knocked Miocic out in the first round to capture the UFC Heavyweight Championship. However, just over a year later, he went from hero to zero after losing the belt in a rematch with Miocic at UFC 241.

During the latest episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Cormier spoke candidly about why he was so disappointed with the defeat.

“I’m a better fighter than Stipe Miocic,” Cormier said (via MMA Junkie). “I respect him, I think he’s a great guy, I think he’s a great role model, but I’m better than him. I just want to go prove it. I should’ve never lost to him. That is going to be one of my greatest regrets.

“I lost to (Jon) Jones, but he was better. Stipe Miocic is not better than me, and that’s going to be something I regret for the rest of my life, is letting him get a victory over me. It should’ve never happened.”

The tactical adjustments that Miocic was able to make in the fourth round have largely been credited as the reason behind his win, although some do believe that Cormier would’ve been able to secure the win a whole lot sooner if he’d have wrestled more than he did.

Whatever the case may be, it’s certainly feels like a trilogy fight between the pair is inevitable. There’s still a whole lot we don’t know about the UFC’s schedule in the next few months, but with UFC 249 being just a matter of days away, it does seem like we’re starting to get back to something resembling a normal schedule now. That could open the door to Cormier vs. Miocic 3.

Do you think Daniel Cormier will come out on top in his trilogy with Stipe Miocic?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/4/2020.