Stipe Cormier has emerged the winner in his third fixture against Daniel Cormier after he got a unanimous decision, 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47, in his favour. This is the third time the two fighters are meeting in the last three years and Cormier has put a wonderful end to the tussle between the two heavyweight giants.
They first met in 2018 where Cormier won the fight, although not everyone agrees that it was a fair fixture. They then met again in 2019 and this time Miocic regained his honour. The fight took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada without the presence of fans.
The round began in earnest after Miocic came out firing a left hand at Cormier who quickly recovered and aimed for a quick takedown. But Miocic was not going to be pinned today and he was able to free himself fast.
Cormier was not going to let Miocic go off easily, so he sent a right punch straight to Miocic’s eye. That attack had to pause the match for a while. Cormier decided to use his right hand more and Miocic was always careful to avoid that arm whenever it was in the air.
The second round saw Cormier trying to find a balance and settle on a pace. His quick steps saved him from Miocic jabs, which were becoming more and more calculated. But there was an extent to which Cormier could resist as he fell to the floor, still taking hits. He was only saved by the horn as Miocic was determined to earn things at that moment.
Miocic maintained the same energy into the third round, unleashing punches on his opponent. Another eye poke, this time to Cormier’s eyes, caused the fight to pause. But this did not slow Cormier down as he continued to fight, despite the pain from the eye. He still continued to wield his right hand at Miocic, promising a knockout. Miocic also had to change tactics, preferring to use punches instead.
By the fifth round, Miocic was still active, throwing punches and pushing Cormier against the cage. He did so until the referee ended the match. Miocic’s efforts were rewarded by the scorecards as he established his dominance as a true heavyweight champion. After the fight, Cormier announced his retirements, but not in the way he had planned it before, having hoped to win the fight.
He said, “It just sucks, being on the losing end of two big fights and trilogies, it’s a very sad position to be in. I will deal with it as I’ve dealt with things in the past. I’m not interested for fighting for anything but titles and I don’t imagine there’s going to be a title in the future. That’ll be it for me. I’ve had a long run. It’s been great. I just fought my last fight for a heavyweight championship. It was a pretty good fight.” Miocic has no straight plans for the future but would instead “just enjoy life for now, heal up and we’ll figure it out.”
Written by: Leon Osamor
