Daniel Cormier Claims Stipe Miocic Rematch Could Be His Last Fight

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: