Daniel Cormier tells Stipe Miocic: ‘Do the right thing and give me my rematch’
Daniel Cormier knows time is running out on his career and he’s not going to wait around forever hoping Stipe Miocic will accept a trilogy fight against him.
The 40-year-old former two-division champion hasn’t fought since last August when he fell to Miocic in a rematch from their first fight in 2018. Cormier defeated Miocic by first-round knockout before losing to him the second time around by fourth-round TKO.
Since that time, Miocic has been recovering from a procedure done to repair damage to his retina after receiving inadvertent eye pokes from Cormier in the rematch.
UFC president Dana White has stated that Miocic will face Cormier in a trilogy once both fighters are healthy enough to compete again.
While the reigning UFC heavyweight champion has been cleared to return to action, Miocic and his manager, Jim Walter, have stated that he’s taking his time to fully recover before booking his next fight. Walter added that Miocic was anxious to face new competition rather than an opponent he had already defeated, which was a rather obvious jab at Cormier.
This past Saturday night as part of the broadcast team for UFC Fight Night in North Carolina, Cormier sent a message to Miocic about finishing what they started after splitting two previous fights.
“I mean Stipe and I are going to fight next. That’s exactly what’s supposed to happen. It’s what’s going to happen,” Cormier said.
“I know they’re saying they want something new … well hell, I wanted something new after I beat him and I gave him a rematch. So it’s only right to do the right thing.
“You’re honorable, right Stipe? You’re a fireman, you save lives. You do the right thing all the time, right? Do the right thing and give me my rematch.”
According to Cormier, he’s only sticking around for one more fight with an opportunity to become champion again.
With Miocic refusing to commit to a timeline for his return, Cormier knows that the sand is running out of the hourglass. He’s not going to sit idle indefinitely just hoping the trilogy comes together.
“You can’t wait forever,” Cormier told ESPN on Monday. “Every day that passes does not benefit me. I’m a realist, I understand that. Either we’re going to do it or we’re not going to do it.”
After knocking out Miocic in the first fight and then dominating him for the better part of three rounds until he got caught in the rematch, Cormier is confident in his chances to close out the trilogy with a championship win.
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He just wants Miocic to decide whether or not they are going to face each other or not because that is the only fight that Cormier will entertain before calling it a career.
“If they’re playing a game with me, whatever. It’s not even upsetting. It’s almost like it kind of breaks you down. But I have faith in the UFC. I have faith in Dana White. I have faith in all the things him and I have spoken about in regards to the fight,” Cormier said. “He’s a guy that’s won one fight in two years. Over the course of those two years he will have fought twice, so it’s not like he’s the most active fighter.
“I don’t really like fighting anyone else. At this point, Stipe has the ability to retire me.”
Daniel Cormier tells Stipe Miocic: ‘Do the right thing and give me my rematch’
