Daniel Cormier issues first statement since UFC 252 retirement fight

Former dual-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier on Monday issued his first public statement since losing what is expected to be the final fight of his career.

Cormier met heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic for the third time in the UFC 252 main event on Saturday at The Apex in Las Vegas. Though it was a highly competitive fight, Cormier eventually lost a unanimous decision, suffering a torn cornea in the process.

The plan was to go out on top, retiring with the UFC heavyweight belt wrapped around his waist, but the stars didn’t quite align for Cormier to accomplish that task.

Cormier left the door to a return open a crack by saying, “I’m not interested in fighting for anything but titles and I don’t imagine there’s gonna be another title in the future, so that’ll be it for me. It’s been a long run. It’s been great. I just fought my last fight for a heavyweight championship and it was a good fight.”

He is likely correct, however, that another title shot is not in the offering anytime soon. Cormier is now, for all intents and purposes retired. And with that, his public statement via Instagram on Monday seemed to be saying goodbye to his career inside the Octagon:

Thank you all for the love and support. Not what I wanted or expected but it is what it is. Congrats to Stipe Miocic on a fantastic fight, was an honor and pleasure to share the octagon with you for 50 minutes. Boy did we give ‘em a show every time. To my team: I love you all to death, you’ve made so many sacrifices. I hope I made you guys proud. Salina and the kids: thank you for being my motivation. To all the fans: I love you so much. You guys push me to try and be great. To Dana White and the UFC: I have loved every minute. Thank you for giving me the opportunity. Been a helluva ride, huh?

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Thank you all for the love and support. Not what I wanted or expected but it is what it is. Congrats to @stipemiocic on a fantastic fight, was an honor and pleasure to share the octagon with you for 50 minutes. Boy did we give ‘em a show everytime. To my team: I love you all to death, you’ve made so many sacrifices. I hope I made you guys proud. Salina and the kids: thank you for being my motivation. To all the fans: I love you so much. You guys push me to try and be great. To @danawhite and the @ufc: I have loved every minute. Thank you for giving me the opportunity. Been a helluva ride, huh?

A post shared by Daniel "DC" Cormier (@dc_mma) on Aug 17, 2020 at 10:27am PDT

UFC 252: Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier recap video

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