Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has come close to pulling the trigger on retiring earlier this year and now he’s once again brought up the possibility that his forthcoming rematch with Stipe Miocic at UFC 241 on August 17th could be his last.
“I always said that I was gonna fight [until I was 40] which would have been March,” Cormier told TMZ Sports. “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.”
If it is then that’ll come as a disappointment to UFC President Dana White, who as a general rule always says that if a fighter starts thinking they want to retire that they should, but in DC’s particular case instead urged him to continue competing.
It’s not hard to see why. A big-money fight with Brock Lesnar was on the table, though alas the WWE superstar has now called time on his own MMA career, while there’s always the lure of a blockbuster trilogy fight with Jon Jones too.
However, if a second fight with Miocic is to be his last then it too presents a daunting challenge, even though Cormier did earn a first round knockout victory over him last year.
“I truly believe (Miocic) is going to be a better version of himself. I don’t think for a second that he’s going to make the same mistakes he did last time.
“I think it’ll be a much more difficult fight.”
